Composer | Bandleader | Producer | Musical Director | Bassist |

Thembinkosi Mavimbela, widely known as Vimbs Mavimbs, is a multifaceted sonic architect whose influence resonates across prestigious concert halls and iconic studio recordings. A prolific composer and bassist, Mavimbs has built a career defined by technical mastery and a relentless pursuit of interdisciplinary innovation. Now based in Europe, Vimbs Mavimbs represents a crucial point of cultural intersection. He arrives not as a visitor, but as a sophisticated "International Music Export" bringing a fresh, authentic South African perspective to the European continent.

Born in and raised in Mbombela, Mpumalanga and moved to the rhythmic epicenter of Johannesburg, South Africa. Vimbs Mavimbs is a product of a city where music is the fundamental language of survival, joy, and resistance. His journey began in the high-energy, eclectic streets of Joburg, but was refined within the hallowed halls of Wits University. There, he achieved a prestigious double major in Composition and Performance, a feat that forged his unique identity: a musician possessing the rigorous technical precision of the Classical tradition and the fluid, improvisational spirit of Jazz.

The caliber of an artist is often measured by the company they keep. Vimbs’ career in South Africa was marked by an extraordinary presence within the country’s most elite musical circles. He did not merely perform; he became a trusted collaborator for the architects of the South African sound. From the avant-garde spiritualism of the late Zim Ngqawana to the revolutionary trumpet of Hugh Masekela and the majestic vocal legacy of Sibongile Khumalo, Vimbs served as a vital thread in the tapestry of South African music history. Perhaps most notably, his seat in the Ekaya Big Band—led by the legendary NEA Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim—solidified his reputation as a musician of rare flexibility, capable of navigating the complex, soulful structures of "Cape Jazz" and beyond.

Vimbs has been a quiet force behind the "New Wave" of South African Jazz. His contributions to the modern catalog are extensive, having worked alongside the genre’s current visionaries, including Tumi Mogorosi, Gabi Motuba, Asher Gamedze, and the genre-defying Msaki. His ability to adapt—whether in a sprawling orchestral setting or an intimate jazz quartet—has made him one of the most versatile musical exports of his generation.

"I believe that music is not merely a performance, but a form of sonic diplomacy—a way to map the distance between where we come from and where we are standing now.

“My work is rooted in South Africa, a specific tension between the structured elegance of Western classical composition and the profound, liberation-focused soul of South African Jazz. Having spent my formative years collaborating with the legends who defined my country’s musical identity—masters like Abdullah Ibrahim and Hugh Masekela—I have inherited a responsibility to treat sound as a sacred archive.

As I establish my creative practice in Europe, my purpose is to build a new 'trans-continental' language. I am not interested in the static preservation of 'tradition' or the simple label of 'world music.' Instead, I seek to create a space of high-art exchange where the polyrhythms of the South and the contemporary textures of the North collide”

Vimbs Mavimbs

Current Project: Late Bloomer

The Late Bloomer, serves as a sophisticated counter-narrative to the fast-paced nature of the modern music industry. It posits that the most profound artistic voices are those that have been allowed to simmer, absorbing decades of culture, history, and technical mastery. This project is a celebration of the "unhurried harvest" an exploration of what happens when a seasoned musician finally chooses to reveal their internal world. It represents the culmination of a career spent at the highest levels of musical collaboration, now distilled into a singular, visionary project. My current project is beyond an exploration of this intersection. I am building a repertoire that honors the South African jazz catalog while pushing into new, experimental territories.