28 January 2013
On 28 January 2013 Victor Mhleli Ntoni died of heart attack, after he was admitted to hospital on Thursday due to persistent cough. The famous jazz bass player was born in Langa, Cape Town in 1947. As a teenager, Ntoni gradually established himself in the townships playing with saxophonist McCoy Mrubata. He was part of the sextet, “The Uptown”, which included the Ngcuka brothers. He was a self taught musician before he received a scholarship to study at the Berkley School of Music in Boston in 1976.
Ntoni was a composer and arranger for the likes of Hugh Masekela – notably, writing “Nomalizo” for the trumpeter, Abdullah Ibrahim, Ringo Madlingozi, Dondo, the South African Freedom Singers and the Victor Ntoni Big Band, amongst many others.
Ntoni was a composer and arranger for the likes of Hugh Masekela – notably, writing “Nomalizo” for the trumpeter, Abdullah Ibrahim, Ringo Madlingozi, Dondo, the South African Freedom Singers and the Victor Ntoni Big Band, amongst many others.
References
SABC, Jazz legend Victor Ntoni dies, from South African Broadcasting, [online], Available at www.sabc.co.za [Accessed on 9 January 2014]|Ansell, G., Soweto Blues: Jazz, Popular Music, and Politics in South Africa, Continuum Publishers, New York. London, pp 320 [Accessed on 9 January 2014]