Mzwandile Qotoyi – Bass & piccolo marimba, African drums, percussion, vocals, and dance.
Born on 12 November 1951, in Langa, multi-instrumentalist Mzwandile Qotoyi is known as ‘The Big Man’. As a boy, after school he used to jam in the streets with his homemade guitar and drums and then went on to study classical music at the University of Cape Town. As a teenager he started playing in the St. Francis Cultural Church Choir, where he met Dizu Plaatjies and the other members of Amampondo.
Mzwandile also collaborated with Dizu on DZM Projects. The pair is featured on Ethno Trance Live and produced an album from the Queen of Xhosa folk music, Madosini.
Discography:
Uyandibiza (Claremont Records, 1983)
Searching for the missing link (Teal Trutone Music, 1986)
State Of Emergency (Assembly Records, 1988)
Feel The Pulse Of Africa (Claremont Records, 1989)
State Of Emergency (ProJazz, 1990)
An Image Of Africa (EWM Records, 1992)
Drums For Tomorrow (M.E.L.T. 2000, 1997)
Inyama (Mountain Records, 1997)
Vuyani (M.E.L.T. 2000, 2000)
Raw And Undiluted (M.E.L.T. 2000, 2005)
IntSholo (Mountain Records, 2008)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.