A jazz club in Johannesburg plays its last songs and laments downtown's decline
JOHANNESBURG — On a Friday evening in downtown Johannesburg, a world away from the genteel suburbs that include some of Africa's wealthiest neighborhoods, groups of men huddle on a dark street as a security patrol whizzes past.
Around the corner, popular jazz venue the Marabi Club is hosting its last Friday night show before closing down – another victim of the city center's decay and the jarring inequality in post-apartheid South Africa.
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After settling in London, he became a central figure in the European avant-garde jazz scene. His drumming style, which merged traditional African rhythms with free jazz experimentation, made him a sought-after collaborator. Throughout his extraordinary six-decade career, Moholo-Moholo's masterful drumming anchored numerous ensembles that shaped jazz history. After the Blue Notes, Moholo powered Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, a revolutionary large ensemble fusing township jazz with European avant-garde sensibilities, while simultaneously contributing to the Afro-rock band Assagai and Harry Miller's Isipingo. His 1978 album Spirits Rejoice! with the Louis Moholo Octet, featuring luminaries Evan Parker, Kenny Wheeler, and Keith Tippett, remains a landmark recording. Following the loss of his Blue Notes bandmates in exile, Moholo-Moholo established The Dedication Orchestra to preserve their musical legacy, founded the nine-piece Viva-La-Black (the first group he took to post-apartheid South Africa), led the flexible Louis Moholo-Moholo Unit, and in recent years, collaborated with younger generations through his Four Blokes and Five Blokes ensembles, featuring talents like Alexander Hawkins and Shabaka Hutchings, ensuring his percussive innovations continue to resonate across generations. He performed with international luminaries, including Cecil Taylor, Steve Lacy, and Derek Bailey. Of the original Blue Notes, Moholo had the time and inclination to branch out further, making him a very sought-after partner. He reflected on the challenges of playing with both black and white musicians during apartheid. He also spoke about his identity as an exiled musician. 'I am the spirit of the exile,' he said, encapsulating his personal journey and the broader themes of displacement and resistance that defined his life. Coming back home Moholo-Moholo's used his music as a powerful protest against apartheid, amplifying the struggles of black South Africans and raising awareness among European audiences. Unlike his Blue Notes bandmates, all of whom died in exile, he lived to see the end of apartheid and returned to South Africa in 2005, settling in his hometown of Langa in Cape Town. 'I have this incredible feeling. It's an incredible feeling to be among your people. I tell you, if I were born again, I would never go into exile. I missed my people for all those years. Most likely, I would never indulge myself in music because, somehow, it made me suffer and gave me some pain. But there is nothing better that I know now than music; it's all that I know,' he said about coming back to South Africa. David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images Musical legacy His extraordinary six-decade recording career showcases his evolution from exiled South African jazz pioneer to globally respected free jazz innovator. His discography includes: Early Years & Blue Notes Era • Brotherhood (1972) with the Blue Notes on RCA Records, capturing the exiled South African group's revolutionary sound. • Bremen to Bridgwater (1971-75), documenting live Blue Notes performances later released by Cuneiform. • Spirits Rejoice! (1978), his landmark Ogun Records debut as bandleader. Expanding Collaborations • Alarm (1983) with Peter Brötzmann Group. • Letter to South Africa (1986) and Live at the Bimhuis (1988) with the Curtis Clark Quintet. • Freedom Tour (1993), the emotional document of Moholo's return to post-apartheid South Africa. • Bush Fire (1997) and Foxes' Fox (1999), significant collaborations with Evan Parker. Later Career Highlights • Khumbula (Remember) (2005) and An Open Letter to My Wife Mpumi (2009). • Sibanye (We Are One) (2008), featuring pianist Marilyn Crispell. • For the Blue Notes (2014), a tribute to his former bandmates who died in exile. • Uplift the People (2018) with his Five Blokes ensemble. • Viva La Black (2024), his most recent release via Bandcamp. His contributions to music and anti-apartheid activism earned him the National Order of Ikhamanga (Silver) from former president Thabo Mbeki in 2004. Among his many awards is this 2004 South African national honour granted to him as part of the Blue Notes by Mbeki for: 'Excellent achievement in the genre of jazz music, contributing to the development of music in the South African townships and defying apartheid laws by forming a multi-racial group.' More recently, he was honoured during KwaLanga's centenary celebrations with legacy projects designed to introduce his pioneering work to younger generations of South Africans. Moholo-Moholo leaves behind an unparalleled legacy as not just a master drummer, but as a cultural ambassador who used music as a weapon against oppression and a bridge between traditions.
