Limited edition 180g deluxe vinyl with OBI/liner notes & digital.
A 1974 session that reads like a census of South African jazz royalty at that moment: Winston Mankunku Ngozi, Barney Rachabane, Dennis Mpale, Dick Khoza, Sipho Gumede, Baba Mokoena. It includes a sublime big-band version of Yakhal' Inkomo - the tune remade on a grand scale, six years after the original. “These recordings are among the freshest and most vital jazz recordings made anywhere and anyplace. Mankunku’s robust and incisive tenor playing is supported by a first-rate band and thought-provoking arrangements that will provide years of listening pleasure to all who investigate. We get to savour Mankunku’s compositional genius too; six of the seven songs being originals.” Salim Washington
Before digital, the South African Broadcasting Corporation recorded the country's leading musicians in its regional studios and pressed the performances onto transcription discs. These were records made for broadcast, never for sale. They were sent to stations across the country and played straight to air, so each disc was the broadcast – a fragile, singular link between a performance captured once and a local audience hearing it over the wireless.
For decades those discs have sat unseen in the SABC archive. Matsuli’s SABC Sessions series, licensed from the SABC and restored and remastered from the original discs, now makes these treasures available to a worldwide audience for the first time.
Before digital, the South African Broadcasting Corporation recorded the country's leading musicians in its regional studios and pressed the performances onto transcription discs. These were records made for broadcast, never for sale. They were sent to stations across the country and played straight to air, so each disc was the broadcast – a fragile, singular link between a performance captured once and a local audience hearing it over the wireless.
For decades those discs have sat unseen in the SABC archive. Matsuli’s SABC Sessions series, licensed from the SABC and restored and remastered from the original discs, now makes these treasures available to a worldwide audience for the first time.
releases December 4, 2026
MANKUNKU BIG BAND, featuring: Winston “Mankunku” Ngozi, Themba Koyana, Robert Mbele (Tenor Saxes); Bunny Rachabane (Alto Sax); Dennis Mpale (Trumpet); Dick Khoza (Drums); Roger Khoza (Piano); Saul Malapane, Baba Mokoena (Guitars); Sipho Gumede (Bass Guitar); Wellington Judge, Thoko Ndlozi and Mandisa Gwela (Vocals)
Recorded at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) studios in 1974.
Originally issued as an internal SABC Transcription record with matrices: LT 14269 and LT 14270.
Produced by Chris Albertyn and Matt Temple.
Audio restoration and lacquer cut by Frank Merritt at The Carvery.
Front cover image by Ian Bruce Huntley.
Liner notes by Salim Washington.
Artwork and design by Siemon Allen at Flatinternational.
Pressed at Optimal Media, Germany.
Licensed from the SABC.
© & ℗ 2026 Matsuli Music.
MANKUNKU BIG BAND, featuring: Winston “Mankunku” Ngozi, Themba Koyana, Robert Mbele (Tenor Saxes); Bunny Rachabane (Alto Sax); Dennis Mpale (Trumpet); Dick Khoza (Drums); Roger Khoza (Piano); Saul Malapane, Baba Mokoena (Guitars); Sipho Gumede (Bass Guitar); Wellington Judge, Thoko Ndlozi and Mandisa Gwela (Vocals)
Recorded at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) studios in 1974.
Originally issued as an internal SABC Transcription record with matrices: LT 14269 and LT 14270.
Produced by Chris Albertyn and Matt Temple.
Audio restoration and lacquer cut by Frank Merritt at The Carvery.
Front cover image by Ian Bruce Huntley.
Liner notes by Salim Washington.
Artwork and design by Siemon Allen at Flatinternational.
Pressed at Optimal Media, Germany.
Licensed from the SABC.
© & ℗ 2026 Matsuli Music.
all rights reserved