Name Nikele Moyake | Role Musical Artist | |
Similar People Mongezi Feza, Dudu Pukwana, Chris McGregor, Johnny Dyani, Louis Moholo | ||
Nikele (Nik) Moyake (c. 1933 – c. 1966) was a jazz musician from South Africa, who played tenor saxophone in the sextet The Blue Notes alongside Chris McGregor, Dudu Pukwana, Mongezi Feza, Johnny Dyani and Louis Moholo. He was born in the early 1930s, making him by far the oldest member of the band, but he was also the band's most accomplished soloist in its early days. His playing can be heard extensively on the Blue Notes CDs Township Bop and Legacy: Live In South Africa.
When the group emigrated to Europe en masse in 1964, he quickly became isolated from the rest of the band through a combination of illness and homesickness. Also, as the oldest member, he struggled to adapt to the changes in the music brought about by the rapid maturing of his younger band mates. He returned to South Africa in 1965, and within a year had died of a brain tumour.