Gwigwi Mrwebi
Ben "Gwigwi" Mrwebi (* approx. 1936 in Johannesburg , South Africa , † 1973 in the United States ) was a South African saxophonist of the township jive and jazz .
Live and act
Mrwebi first played in the early 1950s as an alto saxophonist and clarinetist with the groups The Jazz Maniacs (with Kippie Moeketsi ) and with his Harlem Swingsters (recording his composition E-Qonce , among others ), before joining the Jazz Dazzlers in 1958 and 1960 (to which Kippie Moeketsi, Hugh Masekela and Jonas Gwangwa ) recorded their own pieces for the Gallo label. After writing the piece Gwigwi , he was also known as Bra Gwigwi ; previously he appeared as Benny Mrwebi . He also worked as a sales manager for Drum magazine. Mrwebi went to London in 1960 with the touring cast of the musical King Kong from Johannesburg to London; in the piece he was the narrator and clarinetist. Due to the apartheid conditions in South Africa, he stayed in London in 1961.
He played numerous radio shows for the BBC World Service Africa in the late 1960s. In 1967 he recorded the album Kwela (named after the South African musical style) with musicians Chris McGregor , Dudu Pukwana , Ronnie Beer , Coleridge Goode and Laurie Allan , which was re-released in 2006 under the name Mbaqanga Songs . He then went to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music .
Web links
- Linernotes for Mbaqanga Songs (English)
- Review at All About Jazz (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Jürgen Schadeberg , Don Albert Jazz, Blues and Swing: Six Decades of Music in South Africa . 2007, ISBN 9780864867056 . P. 147
- ↑ Linernotes by Steve Beresford on the 2006 rerelease Mbaqanga Songs (Honest Jons Records)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mrwebi, Gwigwi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mrwebi, Ben; Bra Gwigwi |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | South African musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 20th century |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Johannesburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1973 |
| Place of death | United States |