Mongezi Feza
Mongezi Feza (1945 – 14 December 1975)[1] was a South African jazz trumpet player and flautist.
Contents
Biography
Feza was born in Queenstown, South Africa, in 1945. Born to a family of musicians with a bigger brother, Sandi Feza, who taught him how to play the trampet in the dusty street of Mlungisi township in Queenstown. A member of The Blue Notes, he left South Africa in 1964 and settled in Europe, living in London and Copenhagen. As a trumpeter, his influences included hard bopper Clifford Brown and free jazz pioneer Don Cherry. After The Blue Notes splintered in the late 1960s, he played with British rock musician Robert Wyatt,[2] progressive rock band Henry Cow, and most extensively with fellow ex-Blue Notes musicians Johnny Dyani, Chris McGregor and Dudu Pukwana.[1] Feza's compositions "Sonia" and "You Ain't Gonna Know Me ('Cos You Think You Know Me)" remained in the repertoire of his colleagues long after his death. In the early 1970s, Feza was also member of the afro-rock band Assagai.
He died in London in December 1975 of untreated pneumonia.[1]
Discography
Album appearances
- "Very Urgent" (Chris McGregor's The Blue Notes) (1968)
- "Brotherhood of Breath" (Chris McGregor) (1970)
- "Assagai" (Assagai) (1971)
- Free Jam (with the Bernt Rosengren Quartet), Ayler Records (1972)
- Music For Xaba Vol 1 and Vol 2 (with Johnny Dyani and Okay Temiz) (1972) Sonet Records SNTF 642 and SNTF 824
- "Rejoice" (with Johnny Dyani and Okay Temiz) (1972) re-issued by Cadillac Records SGC 1017 (1988)
- "In Praise of Learning" (Henry Cow), (1975)
- "Theatre Royal Drury Lane" (Robert Wyatt) (1974)
- "Rock Bottom" (Robert Wyatt) (1974)
- Pressure Drop (Robert Palmer) (1975)
with Harry Miller's Isipingo
- Which Way Now, Cuneiform Records (1975)
with Dudu Pukwana
- In The Townships (Dudu Pukwana & Spear), Virgin Records C 1504 (1973) (album dedicated to the memory of Mongezi Feza)
- Flute Music (Dudu Pukwana & Spear), Caroline Records (UK) CA 2005, Virgin Records CA 2005 (1975)
- Diamond Express (Dudu Pukwana), Freedom Records FLP 41041 (1977)
Underground recordings
- 1965 The Blue Notes featuring vocalist Patrice Gcwabe
- 1967 The Blue Notes featuring vocalist Tunji Oyelana
- 1968 Unissued LP (Bootleg) of Brotherhood of Breath.
Bibliography
Philippe Carles, André Clergeat, and Jean-Louis Comolli, Dictionnaire du jazz, Paris, 1994
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed June 2010
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