Wednesday, 5 February 2014 HOTTEST TENOR THIS SEASON :THEMBINKOSI MANQELE THEMBINKOSI MANQELE There is always this one actuality we always fail to spot as music lovers, looking at an artist and his or her music and say “what a great musician or what a great album” forgetting that the album is also made a success by both the artist and musicians behind him or her. My attention was caught by Thembinkosi Manqele one of the most recommended tenors in the music industry. This is a mission I took upon myself to go back and research about this young man and find out what makes him so good. In building my own opinion I did not interview him, I collected all the tracks or albums where he was backing to try get the feel of his flair. It is my pleasure to write about Thembinkosi Manqele. The first clip I found was a recording of a rehearsal two years back where Thembinkosi was backing Sindi Nene, it was not gospel but hey I was on a mission so for the first research it will do. Sindi had only two backers of which were both male and guess what, Thembinkosi was singing the high pitch part. Excitingly wanted to hear how strong his voice was so I pumped up the volume on my head set. One would ask how I knew he had the high pitch, well in the clip, there was a little break where they were fixing the backing so yeah that’s how I knew his part. Alright that was that now time to move on to the next clip and songs. This one was going to be interesting, Thembinkosi backing Uche, have seen Uche live so I think his musical arrangements are a bit complex so this would really give me a feel of the tenor being tested. First and foremost Thembinkosi has a mellow voice, the type of voice that is so enliven, like he just had a “smoothies” to make it so sweet. He maintains his volume so well even when the song goes up to the next modulation. I got goose bumps listening to this virtuous voice, its “common yet rare” the type you actually find only in those who studied music. Now I’m getting excited and moving on to the next songs. Hold on Thembinkosi is Sipho Manqele’s younger brother, I’m sure his big brother had played a role in Thembinkosi getting into the music industry. Well I was curious so I had to find out how all this began, picked up my phone and started asking around if anybody knows where this young man comes from and how did he get to where he is now. After a lot of asking around I have found out that Thembinkosi comes from a singing family and to top it off his dad is a pastor back home in KZN, which means this started at an early age for him, no formal singing education what so ever, this is a God given talent which was polished along the way. Another great revelation I got is that this brilliant singer is also a drummer! Question to musicians, most drummers are good singers, where are the pianists, bass players and guitarists? Salute. His first break was given to him by his friend Sizwe Magwaza, who actually brought him to Johannesburg from KZN to try out his singing up here. Can somebody please hook me up with Sizwe Magwaza? he seems to have helped a lot of singers. Really would love to get into singing. Recently saw the gospel classics and Thembinkosi has been backing there for the past two seasons, and his held it down quite well. As we see different artist being guests and backing them, this show Thembinkosi’s flexibility and how easly he can adopt to different styles of singing ranging from traditional to jazz, urban and gospel RnB. The more styles you can sing the more jobs you get, this is evidently a talented young man and he deserves much credit. Than shortly after that I saw him with Dominion, doing backing vocals for them, and I still say this man is going far with his singing, even though it’s a group effort he still stands out. Then there was backing for Ntokozo Mbambo, yes he was there and yet along with the other two guys the tenor held it down well. The one show he really stood out for me was doing backing for Nqubeko Mbatha along with his brother Sipho Manqele, what a great duo those two make, making it look so easy and actually make you want to do it. Found myself with a spoon backing with them, really was a bundle of joy to listening to the brothers. Not all of us will be in the fore front, and some of us are born to carry out a vision than leading it. Thembinkosi’s attitude is the same to every job he does, forever smiling and making everybody laugh with his eyes set on the goal. We need to celebrate such people since they make sure we get the best for the money we spend going to shows. Ladies and Gentlemen Thembinkosi Manqele. Posted by Tshepo Owami Ndlovu at 00:45 Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest No comments: Post a Comment Older Post Home Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Blog Archive ▼ 2014 (2) ▼ February (1) HOTTEST TENOR THIS SEASON :THEMBINKOSI MANQELE ► January (1) ► 2013 (13) ► 2012 (1) Search This Blog About Me Tshepo Owami Ndlovu A worshiper, book lover, entertainment lover, a writer,Media Student,man of value. The quote that keeps me going is Be happy with what you have while you persue what you want hence i am a hardworker. View my complete profile
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 10:19:54 +0000
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