Louis Moholo

Louis Moholo is a legendary South African jazz drummer, known for his powerful, expressive playing and his influential role in the development of avant-garde and free jazz. He first made waves as a founding member of the iconic South African jazz group The Blue Notes, who left apartheid-era South Africa in the 1960s and found a new base in Europe. Alongside musicians like Chris McGregor, Dudu Pukwana, and Johnny Dyani, Moholo became part of a pioneering wave of South African exiles who reshaped the jazz scenes in London and beyond.

Over the decades, Moholo has collaborated with an incredible array of musicians, including Evan Parker, Cecil Taylor, and Irène Schweizer, blending African rhythms with fiery improvisation and deep emotional resonance. His playing is both technically dazzling and deeply rooted in the spirit of resistance, freedom, and joy. Whether as a sideman or bandleader, Louis Moholo-Moholo (as he is now often credited) remains a towering figure in the world of improvised music.

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