Blue Notes for Bra Louis: The final beat of a jazz revolutionary

Mail & Guardian

20-06-2025

Louis Moholo-Moholo performing at The Orbit in Johannesburg on 25 May 2017. Photo by Siphiwe Mhlambi.
Free jazz flowed through the streets of Langa when visiting the Moholo family home. Outside in the courtyard facing the street, Louis Tebogo Moholo-Moholo and his late wife Ma Mpumi would sit with visitors armed with a sound system and a speaker blasting some of the wildest avant-garde music at high volumes. People walking in the street would come in to greet, while children were in and out of the yard, often being handed sweets.
The drummer — revolutionary, mentor and friend to many — died on the morning of Friday 13 June at the age of 85, sending sadness echoing throughout the jazz world. Bra Louis, or Bra Tebz as he was often fondly referred to, was one of the greatest musicians in the world. He lived with energy; a vibrant and fiery spirit that never stopped fighting for freedom and for uplifting the people of South Africa. Those lucky enough to watch him perform over seven decades witnessed an intense passion that embodied freedom in every way.
'Yes baby, no baby!' he would often shout while playing, which audiences would shout back.
He was also very stylish with his Fedora hats and cool T-shirts (some of which he painted himself).
'We love you, we love you, you don't have to love us, but we love you!' was another famous saying.
These signature chants were known worldwide, as Moholo's reach was far beyond what we might imagine. He lived and breathed music, in every possible way.
Louis Moholo-Moholo performing at Guga S'thebe in his community of Langa in 2018. Photo: Terence Visagie.
The Blue Notes
'That band was made in heaven,' is what Moholo would say when talking about The Blue Notes, one of the finest bands in South African history, the members of which all died in exile. He was the last remaining one.
Moholo was born on 10 March 1940 in Langa, Cape Town. The street where the family lived was home to several musicians, including the great Christopher 'Columbus' Ngcukana.
Langa is one of the oldest townships in the country, which bred many great artists, such as Brenda Fassie.
He started playing drums as a child, after being inspired by marching bands, and later joined the Young Rhythm Chordettes. Moholo was mentored by musicians like Cups Nkanuka, who also lived in Langa and took many musicians in the 1950s under his wing. Apartheid laws oppressed black musicians, and in
That same year, he left South Africa with The Blue Notes, made up of bassist Johnny Dyani, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, pianist Chris McGregor, and saxophonists Nikele Moyake and Dudu Pukwana. The band was invited to play at the Antibes Festival in France and what was initially a temporary departure became permanent exile. They moved to Zürich in Switzerland and played at the Club Africana, assisted by Abdullah Ibrahim and Sathima Bea Benjamin.
The Blue Notes playing at the Antibes Festival in France in 1964, after first leaving South Africa.
The band then moved to London, after an invitation to appear at Ronnie Scott's. They were hugely influential on the British jazz scene. The
The Blue Notes embodied an attitude of revolution — it showed through their music and the way they lived. Moholo later continued with Brotherhood of Breath (led by Chris McGregor), and was the bandleader of The Dedication Orchestra, Viva La Black and 4 Blokes.
In her biography, influential Swiss free jazz pianist Irène Schweizer —who died last year — describes at length Moholo's influence on her. She met him at Club Africana in 1964, when the Blue Notes landed in Zürich, and performed with him throughout his life.
In the book, Moholo is quoted as saying on arriving in Zürich, 'We gave the audience the satisfaction of that high-level music, because this band was made in heaven. So unlucky that they all died; it's like I have been fired from the band and I think maybe they're having a big, big show in heaven!'
A life well lived
Life in exile was tough, with setbacks such as surviving without a passport or having a drumkit lost. But Moholo had a champion spirit and kept playing through the struggle. He has played on hundreds of records — the true figure is not known.
Every time we sat together to listen to music, he would pull out a new album that he had recorded with someone somewhere in the world. Throughout his career, he played with celebrated musicians of the free jazz world like Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, Keith Tippett, Wadada Leo Smith, Evan Parker, Stan Tracey, Alexander Hawkins, Irène Schweizer, Enrico Rava, Roswell Rudd, Peter Brötzmann, Derek Bailey, John Tchicai, Saadet Türköz and more.
In October 1969, jam session with Frank Zappa, Philly Joe Jones, Earl Freeman, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Johnny Dyani, Grachan Moncur and Archie Shepp at the Festival Actuel in Amougies, Belgium. Photo: Jacques Bisceglia (Supplied by family).
A programme for the UK's Bracknell Festival from 1979 quotes British music journalist Steve Lake saying, 'Louis draws rhythms out of nowhere, brings a sense of cohesion and righteous logic to the most uncompromising free blowing, even while stoking the excitement to almost unbelievable plateaux of intensity. His intuitive balance — between control and intensity — is very rare: most drummers possess either one quality or the other.'
Moholo played mostly in the UK, but also all over Europe, and even lived in Argentina. A friend in Italy, Riccardo Bergerone, describes that once, while on tour with Viva La Black in 1989 in Turin, Moholo had a heart attack on stage. He had health issues over the years but was not one to dwell on serious things.
In September 2005, he returned to South Africa with Ma Mpumi, and though the couple could live in an upmarket suburb in Cape Town, they missed Langa and opted to return.
It was through visits to his home that we cemented a friendship that would last for his remaining years.
He loved drinking rooibos tea and had a penchant for sweet things like chocolate cake and peanut butter.
Ma Mpumi and Louis Moholo-Moholo at a performance. Photo: Supplied by the family.
One of the most captivating things about watching Moholo on stage was how he did not care who musicians were or how old you were, as long as you could play.
'Play, man! Play!' he would sometimes urge younger band members, insisting that they give everything they had to the music — a defiant spirit dedicated to the sound.
In 2019, Moholo played one of his last gigs at Guga S'thebe in Langa.
For many years after, he struggled to walk and could no longer play, but in his head, he was always composing or singing, and always listening.
In times when he was bed-ridden, we would gather, just like in the courtyard but now in his bedroom, where he would listen to many albums — very loudly. Musicians from all over the world would come to visit him. On his playlist often were free jazz tunes, and repeatedly music by Abbey Lincoln, in particular the songs They Call it Jazz, Skylark and Through the Years (composed by Bheki Mseleku). And often, accompanied by a spliff of sorts, Moholo would sing and croon the words.
It is impossible to capture Moholo's life in one article — he lived large and beautifully — and will be remembered by all who knew him.
UK musician Shabaka Hutchings says: 'We've lost a giant of creative music in the passing of Louis Moholo-Moholo, one of those elders who have lived a life in service of sound and energy and feeling…I learnt so much from this man that it's difficult to fully articulate the lessons passed down…I remember the last tour we did with him, supporting him as he walked onto stage whispering, 'Yes baby, no baby, yes baby, no baby,' as he hyped us all into that subtle dance we were preparing to engage.'
Shabaka Hutchings, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Tumi Mogorosi and Siyabonga Mthembu performing with Shabaka and the Ancestors in 2017, Photo: Eitan Prince.
For his contributions to music, he received several awards including a
What happened to the Blue Notes in the end? Moyake had returned to South Africa in 1965, and died a year later. Feza died in London in 1975 (at only 30 years old), and the remaining band members recorded the tribute album, Blue Notes for Mongezi. Dyani died in 1986 in Berlin, Germany, and another tribute album was made titled Blue Notes for Johnny. McGregor died in 1990 and a month later, Pukwana. For all his bandmates, Moholo released an album, For the Blue Notes, in 2014.
Now with his death as the final note, we can honour his life, music, humour and long-standing influence as Blue Notes for Louis Moholo-Moholo.
Bra Louis's death is a massive loss for us but there is comfort in knowing that he is reunited with his family, Ma Mpumi and his beautiful band — all of whom he loved so much.
____________
**Louis Moholo-Moholo's funeral will be held on 28 June 2025.