[Johannesburg/Cape Town, São Paulo/Berlin 2025] – Amandla Freedom Ensemble & Mandla Mlangeni Unveil Lost Chapter of Oratorio of a Forgotten Youth: “Homelessness”

In an electrifying archival revelation, Amandla Freedom Ensemble and visionary trumpeter Mandla Mlangeni release “Homelessness”—a previously unheard track from the seminal Oratorio of a Forgotten Youth sessions. Recorded in 2019 but omitted from the original pressing, this sonic manifesto now emerges as a harrowing bridge between jazz, poetry, and protest, amplifying the album’s reckoning with South Africa’s unhealed wounds.

Following overwhelming demand, the Amandla Freedom Ensemble, under the visionary leadership of trumpeter and composer Mandla Mlangeni, is thrilled to announce a second press of their groundbreaking 2023 album, Oratorio of a Forgotten Youth. This release reaffirms the album’s status as a vital work fusing jazz, Afro-jazz, classical, and indigenous traditions, while echoing the struggles and resilience of South Africa’s youth movements.

Formed as a dynamic gathering of young, innovative musicians, the ensemble serves as a living bridge between generations, engaging in profound artistic dialogues with jazz elders and indigenous music custodians. Their work pulses with the spirit of collaboration, whether through explosive performances with living legends or cutting-edge workshops that nurture the next wave of composers and arrangers.

At its core, the Amandla Freedom Ensemble is a musical insurgency—one that dismantles barriers to artistic access while redefining the canon of South African jazz. Through electrifying live performances, cross-generational mentorship, and uncompromising creative exploration, they ensure that the nation’s musical heritage does not merely survive, but thrives, disrupts, and inspires.