Gideon Nxumalo

about

Gideon “Mgibe” Nxumalo (1929-1970) is best known in his home land of South Africa. There he was not just a musician, but also a composer, writer, actor and artist. From about 1950 to 1970 Gideon was prolific in his jazz career while continuing to be a productive cultural hero for the nation of South Africa. His efforts have led him to work with other South African jazz musicians such as Kippie Moeketsi(sax) and Dudu Pukwana(sax/piano) in his 1962 live recording "Jazz Fantasia". Despite his strong presence in South Africa, he is virtually unknown anywhere else outside of Africa and his recordings are a rare find. He was able to embrace a full range of composition and craftsmanship across several genres of music from swing and big band tradition to African indigenous music. While Mozart was an essential inspiration to him, as seen in his string quartet writing and his works for chamber orchestra, he also had a strong identity in African choral singing and an uncanny foresight in preempting an age where the orchestral platform would be married to the art forms of his people and people of the African diaspora. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

top songs

albums

Gideon Plays

Jazz Fantasia

Early-Mart

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Jazz Fantasia (Live at Wits University Great Hall, Johannesburg, 1962)

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Essential South African Jazz: The Jo'burg Sessions

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Early-Mart (Soultown KRS107)

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Home at Night / Chopi Chopsticks

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Essential South African Jazz - The Jo'Burg Sessions

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Split Soul / Rat Race

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Essential South African Jazz

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Essential South African Jazz (The Jo'Burg Sessions)

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Early-Mart Suite

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