Mthunzi Mvubu

Mthunzi Mvubu is an alto saxophonist, flutist, and composer from South Africa. Possessed of a reedy yet smooth, nearly mellifluous tone on the horn, his playing style draws on the North American and African jazz traditions; he also has an extensive post-bop vocabulary. Playing professionally since he was 14, Mvubu has traveled globally with jazz luminaries including Abdullah Ibrahim, Nduduzo Makhathini, Lionel Loueke, and Omar Sosa. He is also a member of Londoner Shabaka Hutchings' Shabaka & the Ancestors. Mvubu is a founding member of the Amandla Freedom Ensemble and, for a decade, has played in drummer/composer Tumi Mogorosi's band, appearing on 2014's Project Elo and 2022's Group Theory: Black Music. In December 2022, Mvubu led a South African sextet on the Ropeadope album The 1st Gospel, his leader debut.