Mongezi Feza (11 May 1945 – 14 December 1975) was a South African

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

er and

flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

Biography

Feza was born in Queenstown,

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

, 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. A member of

The Blue Notes The Blue Notes were a South African jazz sextet, whose definitive line-up featured Chris McGregor on piano, Mongezi Feza on trumpet, Dudu Pukwana on alto saxophone, Nikele Moyake on tenor saxophone, Johnny Dyani on bass, and Louis Moholo-Mo ...

, Feza left South Africa in 1964 and settled in Europe, living in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. As a trumpeter, his influences included

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

per

Clifford Brown Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Sprin ...

and free

pioneer Don Cherry. After The Blue Notes splintered in the late 1960s, he played with British rock musician Robert Wyatt,

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band Henry Cow, and most extensively with fellow ex-Blue Notes musicians

Johnny Dyani Johnny Mbizo Dyani (30 November 1945 – 24 October 1986) was a South African jazz double bassist, vocalist and pianist, who, in addition to being a key member of The Blue Notes, played with such international musicians as Don Cherry, Steve L ...

Chris McGregor Christopher McGregor (24 December 1936 – 26 May 1990) was a South African jazz pianist, bandleader and composer born in Somerset West, South Africa. Early influences McGregor grew up in the then Transkei (now part of the Eastern Cape Prov ...

and

Dudu Pukwana Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist and composer. Early years in South Africa Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer, Port Elizabeth, Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He grew up studyin ...

. 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 Afro rock is a Rock music, rock music genre that fuses Western rock instrumentation with traditional African musical elements, which emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Influences Afro rock draws heavily from traditional African music styl ...

band

Assagai Assagai was an Afro-rock band, active in the early 1970s in London, whose relatively short career produced two albums recorded in 1971. It has been described as "the second best-known African group of the late 60s/early 70s in Britain" after Osi ...

. Feza died in London, in December 1975, from untreated

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. 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).

Discography

;As leader or co-leader *''Music For Xaba Vol 1 and Vol 2'' (with

and Okay Temiz), Sonet (1972) *''Rejoice'' (with Johnny Dyani and Okay Temiz), Cadillac (1988) recorded in 1972 *'' Free Jam'' (with the Bernt Rosengren Quartet), Ayler (2004) recorded in 1972 ;With

*''Assagai'', Vertigo (1971) *''

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

'', Vertigo (1971) ;With

*'' Township Bop'', Proper (2002) recorded in 1964 *'' Legacy: Live in South Afrika 1964'', Ogun (1995) recorded in 1964 *'' The Ogun Collection'', Ogun (2008) compilation ;With Brotherhood of Breath * ''

Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath ''Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath'' is the debut album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band of the same name. Produced by Joe Boyd, it was recorded in 1970, and was issued on LP by the short-lived Neon imprint of ...

'', RCA/Neon (1971) recorded in 1970 * ''

Live at Willisau ''Live at Willisau'' is a live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded on January 27, 1973, in Willisau, Switzerland, and was released on LP by Ogun Records in 1974. In 1994, the ...

'', Ogun (1974) *'' Travelling Somewhere'', Cuneiform (2001) recorded in 1973 *'' Bremen to Bridgwater'', Cuneiform (2004) recorded in 1971 and 1975 ;With Henry Cow *'' In Praise of Learning'', Virgin (1975) ;With

*'' Very Urgent'', Polydor (1968) *'' Up to Earth'', Fledg'ling (2008) recorded in 1969 ;With Harry Miller's Isipingo *'' Which Way Now'', Cuneiform Records (2006) recorded in 1975 *'' Full Steam Ahead'', Reel Recordings (2009) recorded during 1975–1977 ;With Robert Palmer *''

Pressure Drop Pressure drop (often abbreviated as "dP" or "ΔP") is defined as the difference in total pressure between two points of a fluid carrying network. A pressure drop occurs when frictional forces, caused by the resistance to flow, act on a fluid as i ...

'', Island (1975) ;With

*'' Dudu Phukwana and the "Spears"'', Quality (1969) reissued by Matsuli Music in 2020 *'' In the Townships'' (Dudu Pukwana & Spear), Virgin (1973) dedicated to the memory of Mongezi Feza *''Flute Music'' (Dudu Pukwana & Spear), Caroline/Virgin (1975) *'' Diamond Express'' (Dudu Pukwana), Freedom (1977) ;With Robert Wyatt *'' Theatre Royal Drury Lane 8th September 1974'', Hannibal (1974) *'' Rock Bottom'', Virgin (1974) *'' Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard'', Virgin (1975)

Bibliography

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feza, Mongezi 1945 births 1975 deaths 20th-century trumpeters Assagai members Brotherhood of Breath members Centipede (band) members Deaths from pneumonia in England South African expatriates in Denmark South African expatriates in England South African jazz trumpeters South African jazz flautists The Blue Notes members 20th-century flautists