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Mvubu steps out of shadows with debut jazz album

Saxophonist says recording The First Gospel was a great feeling

Saxophonist Mthunzi Mvubu.
Saxophonist Mthunzi Mvubu.
Image: Supplied

Saxophonist Mthunzi Mvubu has finally stepped out of the shadows to release a debut album.

Having been featured on more than 20 albums by other artists, Mvubu dropped The 1st Gospel in December.

For a man who has been involved in music since he was 14, the timing was perfect. He started at the Music Academy of Gauteng in his hometown of Daveyton under the mentorship of late Johnny Mekoa and has grown to understand the industry.

Releasing the album has been nothing but a great feeling as he got to taste how it was to be showered with praises.

“I have been working hard to get an agent overseas so that I can tour internationally and promote the album. I am happy with the response that I am getting. I had to feel what it's like to receive support and love from the audience. I have been involved in other people’s recordings and I did not know what it's like to be praised for your own album.

“I think it was a perfect time for me to release the album after years of being involved in other people's albums and I cherish the experience. Sometimes I feel like it  was overdue. I wanted to release the album in 2020 but I had to put it on hold due to the outbreak of Covid-19. I am glad it is finally out and it is exactly how I had envisaged it.”

The 1st Gospel is a beautiful and matured jazz album. It opens with Zigzag which is a tribute to his mother.

The album is packed with gems such as Shwele, Mom vs Bad Man, A Child Speaks and the title track.

“I call it The 1st Gospel because it is my first album. It took me six days to record the album with most of the songs composed a year before. Zigzag is dedicated to my late mother. She was a traditional healer and at some point she stopped practising. It complicated her life a lot. She went back [to it] later and she passed on. The song is just narrative of her life and it was supposed to be longer than nine minutes. But I cut it because I did not want to come across as Fela Kuti (Nigeria’s king of Afro-beat who was known for longs songs).”

Mvubu has performed with some of the finest musicians around the world, such as Kevin Mahogany, the O'Jays, the Temptations, Abdullah Ibrahim, Rufus Reid, Kyle Shepherd and Omar Sosa.

On home soil, Mvubu has rubbed shoulders with the likes Nduduzo Makhathini, Themba Mkhize, Feya Faku, Tsepo Tshola, Jason Yarde, Andile Yenana, Musa Manzini and Jimmy Dludlu .

Mvubu has toured Europe and the USA as a member of Shabaka and The Ancestors and recently toured Europe with The Brother Moves On.

bambalelep@sowetan.co.za

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