A native of Soweto Township outside Johannesburg, South Africa, Bakithi Kumalo's musical career has been characterized by a series of serendipitous events ranging from his debut gig as a precocious seven-year-old filling in for the bassist in his uncle's band to his enlistment into Paul Simon's group during the recording sessions of the pop star's landmark 'Graceland' album in 1985.

Kumalo creates a singular electric fretless bass sound that teems with double stops that sound like human voices and the African grooves of his homeland and has garnered him a stellar reputation as a sideman. In addition to touring with Simon on his current European tour, he's also recorded and/or toured with the likes of Gloria Estefan, Chaka Khan, Eileen Ivers, Randy Brecker, Hugh Masekela, Harry Belafonte, Gerald Albright, Miriam Makeba, Josh Groban and Chris Botti.

Kumalo has also been active as a solo artist, with two fine albums to his credit (1998's 'San' Bonan' and 2000's 'In Front of My Eyes') as well as three Award winning children's albums recorded with his dynamic wife, vocalist Robbi K. He breaks fertile new ground with his CD, 'Transmigration."  "This record is me," says the leader, who is based in  New York. "On my earlier albums, I played a lot of African songs, for this new project, I wanted to show the other side of me. I wanted to try something different, to show my bass style, to play melodies on my bass and to showcase the wide range of music that moves me."

'Transmigration' displays Kumalo's multifaceted talent in a variety of jazz-infused, deep-grooved musical settings including those steeped in contemporary/lyrical jazz, R&B funk and straight-ahead acoustic jazz (with Kumalo setting aside his electric bass for an upright acoustic) as well as an African rhythm jam.

"Every track is different." says Kumalo, who in addition to bass plays keyboards, drums and a variety of percussion instruments. "Some albums stick to having a certain sound, with all the songs having a similar feel but I wanted to show all the sides of my playing.

Kumalo's bass-playing history began in Soweto where he grew up surrounded by music. His mother sang in a church choir and his uncle, a saxophone player, was always at his house rehearsing his band. "Every weekend, everyone would be at my house singing and playing all day." Kumalo says, "Plus there were bands on every block of my neighborhood. So, music surrounded me. There was traditional African rhythmic music as well as a cappella vocal groups. I picked up the bass early and realized I could follow the groove of a tune with it. I could play the bass lines from acappella music, and I learned how to develop lines based on the left-hand work of accordion players in the township bands."

However, it was an 18-month road trip to Zululand when he was 10 that helped to solidify his bass voice. The band gigged as well as played at schools and hospitals, but got stranded there. During that downtime, Kumalo had a dream where he saw someone playing, using his thumb in a particular way. That set him on the path of bass discovery.

Kumalo says it wasn't until later that he heard people like Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Bailey. And, of course, there was Jaco Pastorius, he says. 'I heard him, and I thought, hey, that's like me.'

While Kumalo became a professional at an early age in his uncle's band, life in apartheid South Africa posed many challenges; so many, in fact, that Kumalo began to look for work outside the music field. However, a producer friend introduced him to Simon, whose music he was largely unfamiliar with. Despite his nervousness in meeting the American pop star in a studio setting, Kumalo says Simon immediately gravitated to his bass style.

Kumalo's work on 'Graceland' opened the doors for him to pursue other avenues, including, recently, recordings with Herbie Hancock, Paul Winters, Gloria Estefan, Josh Groban, Randy Brecker and Cyndi Lauper. Plus, he hooked up with former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, who took the bassist on tour with him. 'Mickey was great, Kumalo says. There was no audition. He told me to pack up my bass and not to worry about learning the music because that would happen on the road. It was a great time.'