Chris McGregor then invited him to join the pioneering Blue Notes sextet,[3] where he played along with Mongezi Feza, Nikele Moyake, Johnny Dyani and Louis Moholo.

As mixed-race groups were illegal under apartheid,[4] the Blue Notes, increasingly harassed by authorities, emigrated to Europe in 1964, playing in France and Zürich, and eventually settling in London.

[3] After The Blue Notes split in the late 1960s, Pukwana joined McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath big band, which again featured his soloing heavily.

[6][7] Pukwana's playing was heard in many diverse settings including recordings of Mike Heron, Centipede and Toots and the Maytals (Reggae Got Soul) as well as improvising with Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink (Yi Yo Le, ICP 1978).

With Mongezi Feza, Elton Dean, Keith Tippett, and Louis Moholo, Pukwana recorded two acoustic tracks on the mostly electric album Diamond Express (Freedom 1977).

[3] In 1978, Pukwana founded Jika Records and formed his own band, Zila,[3] featuring South Africans Lucky Ranku on guitar and powerful vocalist Miss Pinise Saul.