Moses Taiwa Molelekwa, a South African jazz pianist who lived from 17 April 1973 to 13 February 2001, was part of a jazz family. He was born in Tembisa in South Africa’s province of Gauteng. For his knowledge of Thelonious Monk, his father was called “Monk” by the jazz society to which he belonged. Moses’ childhood education was a mess due to poverty and concerns about apartheid. Moses’ father supported him musically as much as possible and he was able to afford a keyboard as soon as possible. He was then accepted into the Federal Union of Black Arts. In 1987, he graduated with high honors and made his professional debut. He played in the following years with Miriam Makeba and Jonas Gwangwa. Hugh Masekela approached him in 1988 to have him join his bands. This period saw Molelekwa win the first of many awards. With the release of Finding Oneself, his solo career began in 1994. He was a well-known solo artist by 1996. He won two FNB South Africa Music Awards in traditional jazz and was hailed as the successor to the great Marabi piano tradition. He played in other societies and traditions outside of South Africa. He performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival, and he collaborated with Flora Purim, a Brazilian singer, on his second album. He was also a producer for the Kwaito band TKZee. He and Florence “Flo” Mthobo, his wife, had other successes over the years. But on February 13, 2001, they were both found dead. He was hanged, while his wife had been strangled. Their eight-year old son was born at that time. Molelekwa is a great pianist and composer, but little is known about him. From Wikipedia
