One of Langa’s foremost songbirds, Sylvia Ncediwe Mdunyelwa, quietly celebrated her birthday at the Table Bay Hotel on Tuesday with her sweetheart, husband Kwezi Kobus.
Sylvia, who was born in Langa, started her singing career in the 1970s when she joined Victor Ntoni’s sextet.
She worked alongside other leading jazz musicians, including the Ngucakana brothers Ezra and Duke, as well as Winston Mankunku, Nick Carter and Merton Barrow.
She became involved in developing the talent of young and aspiring musicians. In 1990 she took a group of young musicians to the International Children’s Jazz Festival in Canada.
On her return she was awarded a scholarship by the Educational Opportunities Council, and subsequently went to study at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). She used this opportunity to polish her skills in music and theatre.
Upon her return, she was invited to tour Germany where she performed at the Berlin Festival in 1994. She was later part of a cultural exchange programme where she went to Bogota, Colombia, in South America to perform in 1997.
The following year she released her album African Diva, Live in Africa, which focused on her performances at the Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Grahamstown.
In 1999, Sylvia got a contract with Blue Note and in 2000 recorded her first studio album Ingoma (Song), which was produced by Victor Ntoni.
Mdunyelwa was awarded the Golden Guachupe award in recognition of her community work in Cape Town. She was also part of the BBC production on the life of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
She presents Voice of Jazz, a programme on P4 Radio and is also a member of the board of Fine Music Radio.