Moholo, Louis (T.)

Moholo, Louis (T.), jazz/rock drummer, percussionist, singer, cellist; b. Cape Town, South Africa, March 10, 1940. Moholo has played in a variety of styles, from mainstream to free to rock. His father played piano, and his mother and sisters sang; he was self-taught on drums. After working with Early Mabuza, he co-founded the Cordettes (1956). He played with saxophonist Ronnie Beer’s Swinging City Six then joined Chris McGregor’s Blue Notes, playing Antibes (1964), and eventually in London in 1965. He worked with Steve Lacy in South America, visited the U.S., then returned to London in 1967. An integral part of the Brotherhood of Breath during 1970s, he also worked with the Mike Osborne Trio, Stan Tracey’s Open Circle Quartet, Elton Dean, Harry Miller’s Isipingo, Dudu Pukwana’s Spear, Keith Tippett, etc. From the late 1970s, he played extensively in Europe, with Misha Mengelberg, Irene Schweizer, Peter Brotzmann, Archie Shepp, John Tchicai, Roswell Rudd, etc. International touring included visits to Africa and the U.S. From the 1980s, he worked with guitarist Russell Bermin, conga player Thebe Lipere, and Keith Tippett in various line-ups and guested with Cecil Taylor in Berlin. From the 1970s through the 1990s, he has also regularly led his own line-ups: Spirits Rejoice, African Drum Ensemble, Culture Shock and Viva Le Black.

Discography

Spirits Rejoice (1978); Tern (1982); Vive La Black (1988); Exile (1990); Freedom Tour: Live in South Africa (1995).

—John Chilton, Who’s Who of British Jazz/Lewis Porter