Jazz Articles about West Nkosi

West Nkosi: Sixteen Original Sax Jive Hits

by Ed Kopp
April 12, 2002

Before he died from injuries sustained in a car crash in 1998, West Nkosi produced hit records for renowned South African bands Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. A household name in South Africa, Nkosi was best known as a producer, but he also achieved popularity as an alto saxophonist and pennywhistler. In the '60s and ‘70s, Nkosi was one of the chief practitioners of sax jive, a simple but danceable form of township ...