Mongezi Feza

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Mongezi Feza
Born11 May 1945
Queenstown, Cape Province, Union of South Africa
Died14 December 1975(1975-12-14) (aged 30)
London, England
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
Instrument(s)Trumpet and flute
Years active1964–1975

Mongezi Feza (11 May 1945 – 14 December 1975)[1] was a South African jazz trumpeter and flautist.

Biography[edit]

Feza was born in Queenstown, Cape Province, Union of South Africa,[2] into a family of musicians, His elder brother, Sandi Feza, who taught him how to play the trumpet in the dusty streets of Mlungisi township in Queenstown.[3]

A member of The Blue Notes, Feza left South Africa in 1964 and settled in Europe, living in London and Copenhagen.[2] As a trumpeter, his influences included hard bopper Clifford Brown and free jazz pioneer Don Cherry.[3] After The Blue Notes splintered in the late 1960s, he played with British rock musician Robert Wyatt,[4] progressive rock band Henry Cow, and most extensively with fellow ex-Blue Notes musicians Johnny Dyani, Chris McGregor and Dudu Pukwana.[5] 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.

Feza died in London, in December 1975, from untreated pneumonia.[2][5] Shortly after his death, the remaining members of The Blue Notes reunited to record a tribute that would be released as Blue Notes for Mongezi (Ogun, 1976).[6]

Discography[edit]

As leader or co-leader
With Assagai
  • Assagai, Vertigo (1971)
  • Zimbabwe, Vertigo (1971)
With The Blue Notes
With Brotherhood of Breath
With Henry Cow
With Chris McGregor
With Harry Miller's Isipingo
With Robert Palmer
With Dudu Pukwana
With Robert Wyatt

Bibliography[edit]

Philippe Carles, André Clergeat, and Jean-Louis Comolli, Dictionnaire du jazz, Paris, 1994

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rich, Jeremy (2020). "Feza, Mongezi". Oxford African American Studies Center. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.78898. ISBN 978-0-19-530173-1. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 854/5. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  3. ^ a b "Mongezi Feza - Oxford Reference". Oxfordreference.com.
  4. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 267. CN 5585.
  5. ^ a b "The Dead Rock Stars Club - The 1970s". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  6. ^ "The Blue Notes - Blue Notes for Mongezi". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Cadillac discography". Jazzlists.com. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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