Louis Mhlanga
| Musician, Guitarist, Songwriter, Producer Louis Mhlanga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Louis Mhlanga November 10, 1956 |
| Residence | South Africa |
| Nationality | Zimbabwe |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1970 to present |
| Spouse(s) | was once married to Margaret Mhlanga nee Indi |
| Children | Nomsa Mhlanga |
| Relatives | William Mhlanga and Shaft Mhlanga |
Louis Mhlanga is a renowned guitarist, songwriter, producer and a Jazz artist who is based in South Africa.
Background
Louis was born on 10 November 1956.[1] He grew up in Mbare where his father was the owner of Jabulani Stores.[1]
He attended Zimbabwe College of Music.
He studied in Botswana and London, in the United Kingdom.[2]
He was married to Margaret Indi who died in the late 1990s.
Career
Loius grew up in a family which was endowed with musicians. At the age of 10, he began to teach himself how to play the guitar imitating artists like Jimi Hendrix,The Beatles, Rolling Stones,Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple amongst others.[3] He launched his career as a guitarist in the 1970s. He thus began to work with many artists including Shaka, Oliver Mtukudzi, Illanga. His brother, William Mhlanga was a member of the Pied Pipers where he was a drummer and Shaft Mhlanga was a keyboardist.[1]
He recorded his first album which was a flop. He subsequently relocated to South Africa where he worked with Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Ray Phiri, Jimmy Dhludhlu and other South Africa jazz artists.[1] In the early 1990s, BMG recorded and released Mhlanga's album paving his way to rise to stardom.
In 1998, he toured Europe addressing at workshops as well as teaching some of his fans. In 1999, he produced Eric van der Westen.[3] He also played with the famous Dutch Jazz Band, The Paul van Kemenade Quintet.[3] During that year, he worked with Vusi Mahlasela, producing an album, Vusi and Loius Live at the Bassline. The following year, he produced Mahlasela's 4th album.[1]
In 2001, he regrouped his band which he renamed Loius Mhlanga Group eventually releasing his album Mukai which was followed by Music yeAfrika and Shamwari. The Group was invited to perform at the Standard Bank National Arts Festivals which were held in 2001 in Grahamstown in South Africa.[3]
Discography
- Music YeAfrica (1997)
- Live at the Bassline (1999)
- Mukai (1999)
- Shamwari (2001)
Trivia
- Mhlanga's song, Zvinoshamisa was was used as the soundtrack of a video clip produced by the Education International and NOVIB for their Global Campaign Against Child Labour and The Rights for All Children to Education campaign.[3]
- He ran the Zimbabwe Ethnomusicology Trust at the Zimbabwe College of Music
- He was a musician-in-residence at the Royal Dutch Conservatory of Music in the Netherlands.
- His song Distant Lover was used as the soundtrack on Rebecca Chisamba's Mai Chisamba Show, a talk show that airs on Zimbabwe's ZBC TV since the inception of the show back in the 90s.
Louis Mhlanga's Videos
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Fred Zindi, The Rise and Rise of Louis Mhlanga, "The Herald", Published:23 Apr 2012,Retrieved:10 February 2015"
- ↑ Gwen Ansell, Louis Mhlanga,"Jazz Times", Published:August 2014,Retrieved:10 February 2015"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Louis Mhlanga, "City of Johannesburg", Published:,Retrieved:10 February 2015"
