Church of the Rolling Tongue

'Church of the Rolling Tongue' is Marcus Wyatt’s latest creative ensemble, bringing together some of South Africa’s most distinctive improvisers, composers and musical storytellers. Rooted in groove, collective improvisation, cinematic storytelling and the sonic possibilities of language, the project explores a musical world where stylistic boundaries dissolve and individual voices are celebrated. Here, words and language are treated as sound before meaning—valued for their timbre, rhythm and texture, and in some places becoming the groove itself. Featuring an all-star cast of collaborators including Shane Cooper, Romy Brauteseth, Siya Makuzeni, Pule, Sisonke Xonti, Justin Bellairs and Jonno Sweetman, the music draws equally from jazz, song, spoken word, ritual, folk traditions and spontaneous composition.

The project is both a celebration and an act of gratitude—an homage to the people, experiences and events that have shaped Wyatt’s life as a musician, father and human being. At once deeply personal and joyfully communal, Church of the Rolling Tongue embraces life's contradictions: light and shadow, struggle and wonder, confrontation and celebration, all held together by the transformative power of groove.

Marcus Wyatt short Bio 2026

Marcus Wyatt is a South African trumpet player, composer, arranger and bandleader who has been an influential figure in the country’s jazz landscape for over three decades. A South African Music Award (SAMA) winner, he has performed and recorded with numerous renowned artists including Miriam Makeba, Abdullah Ibrahim, Bheki Mseleku, Manu Dibango, John Faddis, Lionel Loueke, Maria Schneider and Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In 2022 he directed the Grammy Award-winning Metropole Orkest at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms, and now presents this South African Symphonic Jazz Songbook programme annually in South Africa with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and his own ZAR Jazz Orchestra.

Wyatt has released over 14 albums, and leads several other acclaimed projects including the Blue Notes Tribute Orkestra, Bombshelter Beast and the brass band development project Brass Roots. Together with celebrated bass player/designer Romy Brauteseth, he filmed, edited and produced the House on the Hill South African Jazz Community Showcase YouTube series (2021–2023), which led to the release of their first photographic book Silent Treatment, documenting leading South African jazz musicians. Marcus holds a Masters in music (M Mus) from the University of Cape Town.