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Born in South Africa in 1942, Ratau Mike Makhalemele was a South African saxophonist. His career began in the late 1960s, but he came to prominence as a member of soul-jazz group The Drive, a group he co-founded in 1971 with Henry Sithole and Bunny Luthull. The Drive released several albums including Slow Drive to Soweto (1974), Can You Feel It (1975), Coming to the End of This (1976), and Let’s Cool It (1980). The band’s career was cut short when Sithole and Luthull were killed in a car accident. Ratau Mike Makhalemele released several solo albums including The Peacemaker (1975), Peaceful Eyes (1976), Walking Spirit (1977), Kabuzela (1979) and Blue Mike (1982). He became a popular sideman working with Curtis Mayfield, Clarence Carter, and Champion Jack Dupree. Ratau Mike Makhalemele appeared on Paul Simon’s multi-million selling Graceland album and toured with Simon, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Miriam Makeba in the late 1980s. He resumed his solo career with the Trevor Rabin-produced 1990 Mind Games EP, which featured covers of three John Lennon covers. Further albums included Thabang (1990), Requiem (1992), New Dawn (1994), and Searching for the Truth (2000), which received the South African Music Award for Best Traditional Jazz Performance. Ratau Mike Makhalemele died in 2000 at the age of 58.
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