Exploring the legacy of Louis Tebogo Moholo in South African jazz

The biography of Louis Tebogo Moholo represents the narrative of the modern jazz movement in South Africa and the tale of extraordinarily talented South African musicians who left an indelible mark on the avant-garde school of modern jazz during the mid-sixties.

- PALLO JORDAN

Born at St Monica's Hospital in Cape Town on March 10, 1940, to Christian and Dorah Moholo, Louis grew up during an exciting era for young musicians. Cape Town, as South Africa's oldest port city, had been impacted by virtually every cultural current in the evolving modern world.

The city's heterogeneous population, drawn from Africa, the Far East, Europe, mid-Asia, South America, the Caribbean, and Australasia, contributed to its rich cultural tapestry.

The cultural history of the twentieth century testifies to the universal impact of African music on modern musical tastes. As Ted Joans declared at the 1969 Algiers Pan-African Cultural Festival, jazz is African music, as are reggae, bossa nova, R&B, and rock 'n' roll.

Radio disseminated this art form, but its aesthetic values and evocative beauty contributed to its worldwide appeal.

Louis was raised in an urban African working-class community in the Western Cape. Many Africans who arrived in Cape Town during the 1800s and early 1900s first settled in District Six before being forcibly removed to Ndabeni in the 1920s.

Throughout the Cape Peninsula, African communities formed in Kensington, Blouvlei, Elsies River, Athlone, and Crawford.

In these communities, regionally-based networks formed sports clubs, but in music, regional affiliations mattered less than musical skill and talent. Langa township spawned numerous dance bands of varying quality.