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BORN to a musical family in Thembisa township, Molelekwa studied music at FUBA college, where he was acknowledged as "Student of the Year" in 1987, at the age of 15. Born and raised under Apartheid, Molelekwa entered the public consciousness as one of the "new" South African musicians on the post-Apartheid stage.
During 1991 and 1992, he performed and composed as a member of the bands "Brotherhood" and "Umbongo", and won acknowledgement when both of these groups won "Best Jazz Group" category of the (then) Gilbeys Music of Africa Competition. Still in his teens, he worked alongside recently-returned exiles such as Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa and Miriam Makeba.
In 1994, he recorded for British label B&W / MELT, as part of the "Outernational Meltdown" project, a concept which included top Latin, African and Caribbean artists. This paved the way for his own recording with the MELT 2000 label, and his debut album - "Finding Oneself" was released to international acclaim in 1995. The album was further acknowledged, winning both "Best Traditional Jazz" and "Best Contemporary Jazz" categories at the 1996 SAMA / FNB music awards.
Molelekwa toured, performed and interacted widely, including appearances at the Fin de Siecle Festival, in Nantes, France in 1997.
Instrumentation:
piano
Genre:
African Jazz, jazz
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"Genes and Spirits", his second album for the MELT label was released in 1998, consolidating a meteoric rise. In 1999 he performed in both Denmark and the Netherlands, and won the "Best Contemporary Jazz Album" SAMA award.
During 2000 he appeared at the Cape Town edition of the North Sea Jazz Festival, and also assembled a show titled "Collaboration" with long time musical associates Vusi Khumalo and Jimmy Dludlu. His appearances with British concert pianist Joanna MacGregor won him new audiences in both South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Moses Molelekwa and his wife, Flo Mtoba passed away tragically in Johannesburg on 13 February 2001.
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