Thembinkosi “Vimbs” Mavembela was born in Swalala, a rural village in Mbombela and went to a high school that specialised in electrical engineering. It was only at the age of 18 that he began to study music formally, playing the double bass in the MIAGI Youth Orchestra, the SA Youth Orchestra and the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra and studying jazz at Wits University, subsequently playing with musicians such as Hugh Masekela and Sibongile Khumalo and touring with Abdullah Ibrahim in the Ekaya Big Band.

As a late bloomer himself, he dedicates this project to all of those other late bloomers, wrestling with making sense of their place in the world. His music delves into music that has shaped his personal identity and artistic expression, exploring his musical evolution rooted in childhood memories and the records that shaped him. The project embodies the spirit of a millennial sound while pushing beyond jazz boundaries, paying tribute to the ideology of ‘late bloomers’ – those with humble beginnings and the transformative process of stepping into a new chapter of life.

Production Credits