by Refilwe Boleseng
GABORONE, July 8 — Kgethi Nkotsi is a South African trombone player based in Tembisa, Johannesburg, who started playing the instrument at the age of 16.
He was spurred on by love at first sight, (or sound), and obsesses about the wah-wah sound it makes when it slurs a note, he says.
Since then Mokgethisi, affectionately known as Kgethi Nkotsi by his fans, has never looked back, seizing every moment to blow his horn.
The Tembisa-based brass maestro has come a long way from when he started playing at the Moses Taiwa Molelekwa Arts Foundation under the guidance of Jerry Molelekwa, the father of the late Moses Molelekwa, showcasing at the Makhanda Standard Bank Youth Jazz Festival
Kgethi’s exposure and the pursuit of a music qualification through the University of KwaZulu-Natal, has exposed him to a lot of musicians that he has looked up to jamming with Salim Washington, Andlile Yenana, Khaya Mahlangu, Billy Harpe, Steffon Harris, Leon Scharnick and many more.
He has shared a stage with the legendary trombone player Steve Turre.
Kgethi has a debut project called Maswitsi consisting of his original compositions. Maswitsi is a colloquial name for sweets and Kgethi Nkotsi’s music concentrates on the sweet township lifestyle, township childhood games, humour, children, colours and sweets.
He tells a story through the titles of each song and the structures of each composition.
