Caiphus Semenya (born 19 August 1939) is a South African composer and musician. He was born in

Alexandra, Gauteng Alexandra, informally abbreviated to Alex, is a Township (South Africa), township in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and is located next to the wealthy suburb of Sandton. ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa. He left South Africa for

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States, in the 1960s, together with his wife, singer

Letta Mbulu Letta Mbulu (born 23 August 1942) is a South African jazz singer who has been active since the 1960s. Biography Born and raised in Soweto, South Africa, she has been active as a singer since the 1960s. While still a teenager she toured with th ...

. Among the artists with whom he worked are

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

Jonas Gwangwa Jonas Mosa Gwangwa (19 October 1937 – 23 January 2021) was a South African jazz musician, songwriter and producer. He was an important figure in South African jazz for over 40 years. Career Gwangwa was born in Orlando East, Soweto. He firs ...

, Hotep Galeta, Miriam Makeba, Lou Rawls, Nina Simone and Cannonball Adderley. Semenya also arranged the Swahili chant in the intro to Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" from the 1987 ''Bad (album), Bad'' album.

Awards

* 2015: South African Afro Music Awards * 2015: ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Music * 1986: Academy Award for Best Original Score for the 1985 film ''The Color Purple (1985 film), The Color Purple''; shared the nomination with nine other composers.

Discography

*''The Very Best of Caiphus Semenya'' (Columbia, 1996) *''Woman Got a Right to Be'' (1996) *''Streams Today... Rivers Tomorrow'' (Munjale, 1984) *''Listen to the Wind'' (CBS, 1982) With Quincy Jones * ''Roots (1977 miniseries)#Musical score and soundtrack, Roots'' (A&M, 1977)

References

External links

Unisa honours the love story of Letta Mbulu and Caiphus Semenya
* 1939 births Living people South African jazz composers Musicians from Johannesburg {{Jazz-musician-stub