Imvuselelo by BirdSong Ensemble
Composer and trumpeter Mandla Mlangeni is a dynamic and ambitious young force in South African jazz and has gained traction internationally via residencies in Germany and Switzerland and as a member of Shabaka & The Ancestors. As a bandleader, Mlangeni nurtures a palette of shapeshifting projects from the Amandla Freedom Ensemble to the Tune Recreation Committee to showcase his compositions at home and abroad.
The BirdSong Ensemble behind Imvuselelo is a formidable Swiss collective and the recording follows Mlangeni's Berlin-based Bird Song Project LP of 2017. Album artwork was created by South African designer Baba Tjeko and the release marks the 2020 revival of the iconic As-Shams/The Sun South African jazz label. The title track and centrepiece of the album "Imvuselelo" means reawakening and is a 3/4 waltz composed in 2014. Imvuselelo is available in a vinyl edition of 300 copies with an expanded digital release featuring an alternate take of "Tau Ya Afrika."
"BirdSong Ensemble reminds me of early Ornette Coleman. Mandla Mlangeni is mean." - Rashid Vally (founder of As-Shams/The Sun)
Tracklist
| 1. | No More | 1:55 |
| 2. | Homelessness | 7:01 |
| 3. | Tau Ya Afrika | 4:22 |
| 4. | Imvuselelo | 4:19 |
| 5. | Chicken Dust | 4:51 |
| 6. | AmaChokolette | 10:05 |
| 7. | Tau Ya Afrika II | 4:08 |
Credits
Trumpet – Mandla Mlangeni
Tenor Sax – Max Treutner
Alto Sax – Benedikt Reising
Trombone – Josephine Nagorsnik
Bass – Oz Yehiely
Drums – Felix Wolf
Composed by Mandla Mlangeni
Album Artowork by Baba Tjeko
Recorded in Bern, Switzerland in 2018
Mixed & Mastered by Gavan Eckhart at Soul Fire
Produced for As-Shams by Calum MacNaughton
Cat. No. SRK 897245
℗ 2018 Mandla Mlangeni Music © 2020 As-Shams Archive
