Mankunku

Mankunku: Yakhal'Inkomo

by AAJ Staff
May 8, 2002

Yakhal'Inkomo is a cry of joy wrapped in a package of protest. Tenor saxophonist Winston “Mankunku" Ngozi did not choose the title by accident: it refers to the bellow of the bull as it is taken to slaughter. Did the censors in Pretoria grasp the title's meaning? Doubtful. In 1968, life as a creative African musician in South Africa was a serious challenge, to put it mildly. But Mankunku manages to convey such an urgently joyful and revelatory sound that ...