Moses Taiwa Molelekwa Downloads

Anointed by the random hand of talent, Moses Taiwa Molelekwa was born and raised in Thembisa, 40 miles from Johannesburg, where the youngster was swaddled in a jazz blanket, raised to the sounds of Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. His grandfather was a pianist and his father was... Learn More »

Anointed by the random hand of talent, Moses Taiwa Molelekwa was born and raised in Thembisa, 40 miles from Johannesburg, where the youngster was swaddled in a jazz blanket, raised to the sounds of Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. His grandfather was a pianist and his father was nicknamed 'Monk', "as he was the first guy in the local jazz society to understand what Thelonius was doing. 'Monk' was determined that his son would become a musician but as he couldn't afford a piano, he bought the boy a guitar and packed him off on Saturday mornings to study at the Federated Union of Black Arts Academy in Jo'burg.

Brought up during the final years of apartheid, Moses was one of the lost generation of South Africans who, through examination boycotts and defiance in the townships, was denied a formal education. "I was beginning to get into trouble, but I wasn't that bad", he said of his early teens. "There were no recreational facilities for young people in the township... no role models; the crime rate keeps rising and when people earn money they become victims and have to leave."

Rescued by his passion for piano playing, Moses declared, "There is no question that music saved my life". This love of music was fortunately nurtured by his father, a big jazz fan and when he finally acquired a Casio keyboard it became obvious that this was not a passing fad, but a natural talent that needed to be explored. On the recommendation of Director Sipho Sepamla, he went full-time to FUBA (Federal Union of Black Arts), where his teacher, Mandla Cebekulu, was an important influence. Perhaps more important though was the shared record collection of his father's jazz society associates. When he graduated with a diploma in piano studies, he became the first recipient of FUBA's prestigious Best Student award in 1987 and by that time had made his professional debut at Jo'burg's Jameson's club with Kelly Petlane and Glen Mafoko, as well as having performed at premier jazz club, Kippie's.

Moses' growing reputation brought him work with South African greats such as Miriam Makeba, Jonas Gwangwa and Thembi Mtshali and the two bands of which he was a founding member - Brotherhood and Umbongo - took it in turns to win the Best Jazz Group category in the 1991/92 Gilbeys Music of Africa Competition.

The theatre has long provided an outlet for musical expression in South Africa and Moses acted as Musical Director of several productions, including a musical entitled 'SA Love/Uthando', directing musicians including Barney Rachabane, Sophie Mgcina and Jennifer Ferguson.

Approached by Hugh Masekala at the tender age of eighteen, his immense potential as an artist became clear. However Moses was not over-awed by such an invitation partly because he was barely familiar with the great South African trumpeter's music, as it had been banned in his homeland during apartheid. "I didn't even think, 'this is Masekela!' I just went for it." He got the gig playing keyboards - not just acoustic piano - in the Masekela band and worked with them for over a year. Since then, he's toured the US with stars such as Dorothy Masuka and Julian Bahula, and last year visited London to play with classical virtuoso pianist Joanna MacGregor (June 2000).

Having paid his dues as a jazz apprentice, Moses set out the blueprint for his own reinterpretation of the fine South African jazz tradition on his debut album, Finding One's Self. Featuring all of his own compositions and arrangements, the quality of the guest musicians on this album testifies to the high esteem in which he is held. The veteran producer Pops Mohamed considers Moses to be one of the most exciting players to have emerged from the Republic in recent years: "He can play any which way, and still do it his way. It was a great experience working with him." Recorded in May 1994, Finding Oneself reveals Moses' maturity as a composer and also reflects the increasing positivity felt during the run up to free elections, in which the people of South Africa were filled with hope as they glimpsed a new dawn.

As a member of the M.E.L.T. musical family, Moses joined the Outernational Meltdown jams in 1994, where he met Andrew Missingham, who stated, "Moses is going to be one of the great jazz men of the next decade. I've worked with tons of pianists and he's head and shoulders above nearly everyone. If you listen to Moses' songs, they're brilliantly structured. There seems to be a foresight that goes right through them." It was hardly surprising, then, that Andrew chose to work with Moses again when he put together Barungwa, and releases The Messengers.

Mural dedicated to Moses

In 1996 Molelekwa's unique musical talents were recognised when he won not just one, but two FNB SA Music Awards for the best traditional jazz performance and best contemporary jazz performance. These awards highlighted his skill in blending the traditional styles of South African jazz that are his heritage with contemporary sounds and influences, successfully forging a thoroughly modern sound. He was widely hailed as an exciting successor to highly esteemed figures such as Hugh Maskela and Abdullah Ibrahim, but as HiFi World pointed out, "His keyboard work owes little to any particular past pianist. He's either a total original or a combination of too many disparate influences for anyone to get the upper hand. He plays with subtle craftsmanship and feeling that left me elated and awestruck."

His album Genes and Spirits, produced by Molelekwa himself and Andrew Missingham, was an expansion of his musical horizons and highlights the appreciated cross-pollination that is still occurring in today's jazz scene. It is an eclectic mix of diverse influences, a myriad of different styles coming together in an exotic melting pot ! A fusion of jazz-grooves laced with both traditional African rhythms and the contemporary influences of drum n' bass. Added to this are influences from Jamaica, Brazil and Cuba. The album features a cast of musical masters such as Brazilian diva Flora Purim, Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes, Brice Wassy from the Cameroon on drums, and Jose Neto on guitar. As Moses says, "I wanted both to reach a wider audience and experiment more", and this remarkably diverse work does just this.

The key track 'Spirit of Tembisa' Molelekwa said, "explores what the whole album is meant to be about." It is a song imbued with the resistance and resilience of the townships during the harsh constraints of apartheid. However, Molelekwa described most of the music on this album as stemming from everyday life. "It is from the people I meet, the places I've been, the emotions I undergo." The title Genes and Spirits becomes clearer when we consider that there are an abundance of artists of all description in Molelekwa's family: his grandmother was a tap-dancer, his father a jazz player and his grandfather a pianist. "Music was unavoidable in my family. It is in the genes but I was also brought up with a very spiritual influence." His great aunt was a sangomo spiritual healer. "A search goes on in music for the spirit. In seeking that we find a solution to our own problems because music looks beyond what we see with the naked eye."

During the last two years before his tragic death Moses worked with South Africa's most popular contemporary Kwaito band TKZee. He contributed to the TKZee Family Album - Guz 2001, co-producing the hit track Fela Kae ,and writing the popular 'It's My Party'. This album is taking kwaito music in a new direction making the style more accessible. Labelled and promoted as guz it blends kwaito, township dance, hip hop, ragga and rap to create a thoroughly modern, upbeat sound. This exciting collaboration played together at the 1999 Roskilde Festival, as well as jamming at the 1999 South African Music Awards. Moses subsequently worked with Tokollo (of TKZee) on his debut solo album.

Moses was busy during 2000 touring both internationally and nationally; playing at the North Sea Jazz Festival both in Holland and at home to a huge audience, as well as at the SA WOMAD. He also visited London to play with the internationally renowned British concert pianist Joanna MacGregor, at both the Spitz and The Work in Progress gig, put together by Serious productions. His work with Joanna proved to be one of the most intriguing and successful pairings within the present jazz scene, and sponsored by the British Arts Council the two went on to perform together at the Grahamstown Festival and other venues throughout South Africa in July (2000). He delighted the Jazz world with his work on South Africaís infamous jazz diva Sibongile Khumalo's latest album to which he contributed his own composition entitled 'Free Spirit'.

The compilation WA Mpona, released shortly after his death contains a number of not only unreleased mixes but also the title track which after release got majot airplay in his home country. In 2004 Melt released a double CD with a series of solo piano tracks secretly recorded during mid 90's - the album is called DARKNESS PASS. With three outstanding albums under his belt as well as his successful musical collaborations, Moses showed the world that he was definitely in the vanguard of a new generation of masterful musicians who have come to represent the vitality and bombastic spirit of South Africa. In a post-apartheid society artists are opening themselves up to influences from around the world, and although Moses had his roots firmly planted in African soil, his branches reached out to catch the dance rhythms of Kwaito and contemporary rhythms of Latin America, Asia and Europe. An innovative composer and virtuoso keyboardist Moses was one of the most exciting artists to emerge and embody this new-found freedom.

His genes and spirit live on.
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