McCoy Mrubata (born 1959) is a

South African jazz South Africa has a notable jazz scene. History The jazz scene in South Africa grew much as it did in the United States. Through performances in nightclubs, dances, and other venues, musicians had the opportunity to play music often. Musicians su ...

saxophonist.

Biography

McCoy Mrubata was born in 1959 in the township of

Langa, Cape Town Langa is a Township (South Africa), township in Cape Town, South Africa. Its name in Xhosa language, Xhosa means "sun". The township was initially built in phases before being formally opened in 1927. It was developed as a result of South Afric ...

, South Africa. He was surrounded in childhood by many African hymns, from the sounds of Zion churches to the brassy music of the Merry Macs band who rehearsed opposite his home. With the difficulty of living under the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

government and the 1976

Soweto uprising The Soweto uprising, also known as the Soweto riots, was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children in South Africa during apartheid that began on the morning of 16 June 1976. Students from various schools began to p ...

, McCoy left school and followed his music passion. His instrument then was flute, which he studied informally under the likes of Madoda Gxabeka, the Ngcukanas, Winston Ngozi, Ezra, and many Langa greats. In the early 1980s, Mrubata played with many cover bands such as Fever, Touch and Airborne, from where he moved to crossover outfit Louis and the Jive. While touring in the 1980s, he was spotted by bandleader Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, who helped him make

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

his home. As Mrubata grew into playing a wider range of reeds and composing more, he engaged with many other bands and that led to the opportunity of a recording deal by producer Koloi Lebona with a British-based record company named

Zomba Records The Zomba Group of Companies (sometimes referred to as Zomba Music Group or just Zomba Group) was a music group and division owned by and operated under Sony Music Entertainment. The division was renamed to Jive Label Group in 2009 and was place ...

in 1988. The same company had produced, among others,

Jonathan Butler Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music. Biography Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during apa ...

and

Billy Ocean Leslie Sebastian Charles (born 21 January 1950), known professionally as Billy Ocean, is a Trinidadian-born British singer and songwriter. Between 1976 and 1988, he had a series of hit songs in the UK and internationally. After releasing sev ...

. The following year Mrubata released his debut album ''Firebird'' and went on to form Brotherhood, a band with names such as guitarist

Jimmy Dludlu Jimmy Dludlu (born 17 November 1966) is a Mozambican jazz musician. Early life Dudludlu grew up in Mozambique, South Africa ,Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe and started playing guitar at 13 years old when he taught himself with a homemade guitar. ...

, pianist Nhlanhla Magagula and Lucas Khumalo, winning the Gilbey's Music for Africa prize in 1990. In 1992, Mrubata joined

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and f ...

’s Lerapo and toured the world, playing alongside guitarist Lawrence Matshiza and pianist Moses Molelekwa. Mrubata continued creating his own bands, including Cape to Cairo and McCoy and Friends. In the mid-1990s, he made the first of a series of albums as a leader, with ''Face the Music'' winning the 2003 South African Music Award (SAMA) in the Traditional Jazz category and ''Icamagu Livumile'' winning the same award in 2005. Besides his international musical journey, Mrubata also did some scoring work for South African productions about journalist

Bloke Modisane William Modisane (28 August 1923 – 1 March 1986), better known as Bloke Modisane, was a South African writer, actor and journalist. Biography William "Bloke" Modisane, the eldest son of Joseph and Ma-Willie Modisane,Nelly E Sonderling (e ...

, and in 2001 starred in a Norwegian production based on the life of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

. In June 2007, Mrubata travelled with

Paul Hanmer Paul Hanmer (born 1961, Cape Town) is a South African jazz pianist. Career As a child he studied piano. He attended the University of Cape Town for two years before beginning a music career with guitarist Paul Petersen. During the 1980s he starte ...

to Congo DR and

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

to participate in conducting music workshops with Belgian and Congolese musicians for a local jazz festival. In 2008, he won his third SAMA in the category Best Traditional Jazz Album for his album ''The Brasskap Sessions Volume 1''. Mrubata's current music involvement includes producing and teaching. His ambition is to keep South African music alive at home and share his South African experiences through music with the rest of the continent and the world at large. He is married with four kids and currently lives in Johannesburg."McCoy Mrubata, Saxophone"
Johannesburg International Mozart Festival, 2012.

Web sources

External links

Mccoy Mrubata website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mrubata, McCoy 1959 births South African jazz saxophonists South African jazz flautists Living people Musicians from Cape Town 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century flautists