Tete Mbambisa

Born in 1942 and raised in the Eastern Cape, Tete Mbambisa's musical

roots are embedded in marabi. With a special talent for harmonic

structure and musical arrangement, his career began as leader of the

vocal group Four Yanks in the early 1960s. With encouragement from

Abdullah Ibrahim, he dedicated himself to the piano and went on to

assemble and record with the Jazz Disciples and later the Soul Jazzmen

in the late 1960s. Issued by the independent As-Shams/The Sun label in

1976, Tete's Big Sound was the first album attributed to pianist Tete

Mbambisa as principal artist fronting a large ensemble and the quartet

outing Did You Tell Your Mother followed in 1979. In recent years,

Mbambisa has created live recordings in partnership with the Music

Research Centre at the University of York. Turning 80 in 2022, Tete

Mbambisa lives in Gugulethu and continues to enchant Cape Town

audiences with special appearances.

?Tete Mbambisa's Big 4

featuring Peter Ndlala, Babes Ndamase and Blackey Tempi