JONAS GWANGWA

Jonas Gwangwa is one of the most accomplished and versatile South African jazz musicians and has thrilled audiences around the world with his artistry as a trombonist/composer and all around creative genius. For over 30 years, he traversed the world as an exile, collecting accolades at every stop along the way. A product of the turbulent but musically significant 1950's, Gwangwa came from Soweto and electrified the Sophiatown music scene until it became illegal for Blacks to congregate and South African musicians were jailed for performing. Nevertheless, he blazed a fiery path in South Africa by playing with virtually every important band of the era, including the Jazz Epistles, a group that included icons Kippie Moeketsi, Abdullah Ibrahim, Johnny Gertse and Makhaya Ntshoko.
In 1961, Gwangwa toured England with the hit musical King Kong. He then went to the United States where he resided for 15 years and studied at New York's prestigious Manhattan School of Music. Gwangwa earned his "break" through music legend Harry Belafonte who over the years has been a staunch supporter of both the ANC and Gwangwa's personal career. Gwangwa has been a compatriot of Ahmad Jamal, Herb Alpert and contemporaries Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, and Caiphus Semenya.
His commitment to the struggle to end apartheid has always been intrinsic to his music. He narrowly escaped death in 1985 when his home was blown up by South African security forces. (Several of his close friends were killed.) Gwangwa's lifework crystallised when he composed, arranged and was musical director of Amandla, the much-heralded worldwide ANC cultural ensemble tour to which he devoted ten years of his life.
A prolific composer, Gwangwa joined forces with George Fenton to create the original score and theme song for the Richard Attenborough film, Cry Freedom. The score achieved Oscar, Grammy, Bafta, Golden Globe and Anthony Asquith award nominations and won Ivor Novello and Black Emmy Awards. He returned to South Africa in 1991 and in 1994, his life long dream of freedom was realised when Nelson Mandela was elected president of a democratic new South Africa.