The Soweto String Quartet is a string quartet

String quartet

A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...

 from Soweto

Soweto

Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...

 in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 composed of Reuben Khemese, Makhosini Mnguni, Sandile Khemese and Thami Khemese. Their music is a fusion of the "dance rhythms of Kwela

Kwela

Kwela is a happy, often pennywhistle-based, street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s....

, the syncopated guitars of Mbaqanga

Mbaqanga

Mbaqanga is a style of South African music with rural Zulu roots that continues to influence musicians worldwide today. The style originated in the early 1960s.-History:...

, the saxophones and trumpets of swaying African jazz

African jazz

African jazz may refer to:* a Congolese band, Grand Kalle et l'African Jazz, often referred to as 'African Jazz'* a style of music known as African jazz, used in the context of all South African jazz...

 and the voices of people singing in joyous, easy harmony". They became a full-time professional outfit in 1992 and they performed at President Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

's inauguration, after which Mandela started recommending them for other jobs. Their "albums showcase the band's unique blend of traditional rhythms, Township Jazz, Pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 songs, Jazz fusion

Jazz fusion

Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...

, and of course, strong Classical influences. The songs are arranged in the band's unique and vibrant fashion - a true celebration of the resilient township spirit."

Discography

- Zebra Crossing(1994?)
- Renaissance(1996)
- Millenia(1998)
- Rhythms of Africa(1999)
- Four (2001)
- Our World(2003)