Tebogo Louis Moholo-Moholo, also known as Bra Louis, has died earlier on Friday, at the age of 85, following a prolonged illness.

His family confirmed the news on Friday evening. 

Moholo-Moholo was a trailblazing drummer and the last surviving member of the legendary group The Blue Notes. He was born on 10 March 1940 in Langa, Cape Town, and rose to become a global icon of free jazz.

As well as being an icon in the South African Jazz space, he was a torchbearer for artistic freedom. As apartheid tightened its grip in the 1960s, Moholo-Moholo and his bandmates in The Blue Notes took their music into exile, finding refuge and recognition in London. They became powerful symbols of cultural resistance and creative liberation.

“Louis was more than a pioneering musician—he was a mentor and a friend. As a drummer, composer, and fearless voice for artistic freedom, Louis inspired generations through his groundbreaking contributions to South African and global jazz,” the Moholo-Moholo family said in a statement. 

“From the townships of Cape Town to the stages of London and beyond, his rhythms spoke of resistance, liberation, and the boundless power of creativity.”

“Spirits Rejoice!” the family concluded—a reference to one of his seminal works and an apt tribute to a life that turned rhythm into resistance.

According to the University of Cape Town, he went into exile in 1964 and settled in London. There, he made a significant contribution to British jazz. In 2004, he received the National Order of Ikhamanga in Silver from former president Thabo Mbeki for his contribution to the arts. A year later, in 2005, he returned to South Africa and settled in his hometown.

“Bra Louis’s legacy remains hidden to so many South Africans, especially the younger generation, because of the political history of this country, which led to him spending such a long time in exile. Therefore, one of the objectives of this legacy project was to bring these hidden stories and his history into the light,” said Nkululeko Mabandla, a lecturer in UCT’s Department of Sociology and research associate in the Centre for African Studies.

Details of funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.

IOL

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