Winston Monwabisi "Mankunku" Ngozi (1943 - 13 October 2009) was a famous South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n tenor saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 player.

Early life

He was born in Retreat, Western Cape in 1943, the first-born in a musical family. He played piano at age seven, and later clarinet and trumpet. In his mid-teens he learned the alto and tenor saxophone. He cites John Coltrane

John Coltrane

John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...

, local saxophonist "Cups & Saucers", pianist Merton Barrow, as well as bassist Midge Pike as major influences.

Career

Mankunku chose to remain in his native Cape Town during Apartheid. This meant that he was subjected to the Separate Amenities Act and similar Apartheid legislation. A classic tale tells of his performance with an all-white big band in the Cape Town City Hall in 1964, where, because a mixed-race band was unlawful, he was forced to play behind a curtain so as to remain out of sight.

In 1968 he recorded the famous blockbuster, Yakhal' Inkomo, with Early Mabuza, Agrippa Magwaza and Lionel Pillay. It won him the Castle Lager "Jazz Musician of the Year" award for 1968. Another colleague was Abdullah Ibrahim

Abdullah Ibrahim

Abdullah Ibrahim , born Adolph Johannes Brand, 9 October 1934 in Cape Town, South Africa, and formerly known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer...

.

Discography

• Yakhal’ Inkomo (1968, with Lionel Pillay, Agrippa Magwaza, Early Mabuza)
• The Bull and The Lion (1976, with Mike Makhalemele, Trevor Rabin, Ronnie Robot and Neil Cloud)
• Winston Mankunku & Mike Perry Jika (1987, with Richard Pickett, Mike Campbell, Bheki Mseleku
  Bheki Mseleku
  Bhekumuzi Hyacinth Mseleku, generally known as Bheki Mseleku was a jazz musician from South Africa. He was a pianist, saxophonist, guitarist, composer and arranger who was entirely self taught....
  
  , Russell Herman, Claude Deppa
  Claude Deppa
  Claude Deppa is a jazz trumpeter born in Cape Town, South Africa, probably best known for his work with the Brotherhood of Breath and Carla Bley.-Discography:#Toi Toi...
  
  , Lucky Ranku)
• Winston Mankunku & Mike Perry Dudula (1996, with Spencer Mbadu, Richard Pickett, Errol Dyers, Charles Lazar, Buddy Wells, Marcus Wyatt, Graham Beyer, The Merton Barrow String Quintet)
• Molo Africa (1997–1998, with Feya Faku, Tete Mbambisa, Errol Dyers, Basil Moses, Lionel Beukes and Vusi Khumalo)
• Abantwana be Afrika (2003, with Andile Yenana, Herbie Tsoaeli, Prince Lengoasa and Lulu Gontsana)

External links

• Winston Ngozi Mankunku on answers.com