Moses Taiwa Molelekwa (17 April 1973 – 13 February 2001) was a South African

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist.

Early life

Moses Taiwa Molelekwa grew up in a family of jazz musicians. He was brought up in the town of

Tembisa Thembisa, formerly Tembisa (Dindela), is a large township situated to the north of Kempton Park on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1957 when black people were resettled from Alexandra and other areas in Edenvale, Kem ...

, situated in the province of

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

, South Africa.

Career

In the 1980s he played with

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, a ...

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 ...

, and others. In 1988

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 ...

asked him to join his bands and this period saw Molelekwa winning the first of several awards. His solo career began in 1994 with the debut album ''Finding Oneself''. By 1996 he had gained widespread attention as a solo artist, winning two FNB South Africa Music Awards for traditional jazz, and was heralded as the successor for the great

Marabi Marabi is a style of music that evolved in South Africa over the last century. The early part of the 20th century saw the increasing urbanisation of black South Africans in mining centres such as the gold mining area around Johannesburg - the Wi ...

piano tradition, following in the footsteps of the prolific

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

. He also played outside South African tradition or society. He played at the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

and worked with Brazilian singer

Flora Purim Flora Purim (born March 6, 1942) is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. She has recorded and performed with nu ...

on his second album. He also did work beyond jazz as a producer for the

Kwaito Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of h ...

group

TKZee TKZee is a South African kwaito music group formed in 1990s by three school friends, Tokollo Tshabalala, Kabelo Mabalane, and Zwai Bala. The group shot to prominence in late 1997 and early 1998 with their chart-topping singles "Phalafala" and " ...

. Molelekwa named

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

Bheki Mseleku Bhekumuzi Hyacinth Mseleku, generally known as Bheki Mseleku (3 March 1955 – 9 September 2008), was a jazz musician from South Africa. He was a pianist, saxophonist, guitarist, composer and arranger who was entirely self-taught.John Fordham"Bh ...

, and Abdullah Ibrahim as major influences on his music.

Death

The following years saw other successes, but on 13 February 2001 he and his wife Florence "Flo" Mtoba were found dead. He had been hanged, while she had been strangled to death. They had an eight-year-old son at the time.

Publications

Although Molelekwa has great acclaim from critics and musicians alike, little has been written about this pianist and composer. In 2021, author Phehello Mofokeng published a reflective essay entitled ''A Note To Taiwa,'' which celebrates the music and legacy of Moses Taiwa Molelekwa.

Discography

Albums

* ''

Finding Oneself A "journey of self-discovery" refers to a travel, pilgrimage, or series of events whereby a person attempts to determine how they feel, personally, about spiritual issues or priorities,Genes and Spirits In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

'' (1998) * '' Wa Mpona'' (2002) * ''

Darkness Pass Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lum ...

'' (2004) * ''

Live in Johannesburg nineteen ninety nine Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'' (2010)

References

External links

Jazzhouse obituary

Calabash music

"Molelekwa, Moses Taiwa (South Africa)", music.org.za
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molelekwa, Moses Taiwa South African jazz pianists African jazz (genre) pianists 1973 births 2001 deaths 20th-century pianists