Trumpet-player, composer and bandleader of exceptional originality and craft, Mandla Mlangeni has demonstrated his talent on many a local and international stage.  He was recognised in 2019 as the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year for Jazz, one of SA’s highest accolades.

Mlangeni leads various creative and critically acclaimed projects. The Tune Recreation Committee made their debut appearance at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and then had their album 'Voices of Our Vision' listed as on the New York Times’ Best Albums for 2017.  The Amandla Freedom Ensemble has released two albums including the SAMA nominated ‘Bhekisizwe’, named after Mlangeni's activist and lawyer father who was assassinated by apartheid forces. Mlangeni also leads the Swiss-based Birdsong Ensemble, and has played or collaborated with legends such as David Murray (US), Evan Parker (UK), Feya Faku, Hugh Masekela and Shabaka Hutchings (UK).

Many of Mlangeni’s compositions are rooted deeply in a consciousness of social discourse, a sense of pride and a celebration of being black, being African. On stage though, Mlangeni has a vibrant energy, an infectious smile and an irrepressible sense of fun that has the audience with him from the first to the last note.  His trumpet playing stretches from the wistful melancholia of rainy day jazz, through to foot tapping, hip-swinging tunes that evoke the best of South African jazz, and onto musical experimentations that add dashes of influence from Balkan and Electro to Free Jazz.