Meeting up with Moreira Chonguica at a trendy coffee shop in the heart of Art Central in Kloofnek, Cape Town he greets me with a ready and sincere smile; “Hello”, he says, a hint of Portuguese in his accent. He is Mozambican born and a celebrated Saxophonist – a SAMA Award winner for ‘Best Contemporary Jazz Artist 2009’ and nominated for ‘Best Producer in 2007’.As we get into the flow of the interview which instantly takes the relaxed form of an easy conversation, I get to know a highly intelligent and philosophical man.
His confident demeanour and stylized approach in answering my questions reveals an insight into his most invaluable years of life and industry experience. The same year he was awarded his first SAMA in 2009, he received two of the highest honours in his home country. Radio Mocambique [the nation’s largest radio station] voted him ‘Cultural Personality of the Year’ and readers of ‘Jornal Noticias’ [leading Mozambican magazine] also voted Moreira as “The Best of 2009”alongside President Guebuza and the Mozambican Football team – The Mambas. Moreira conceptualizes, develops and maintains community initiatives in both Mozambique and Cape Town, with the sole purpose of bringing music to schools and children.
These children would otherwise not have been exposed to the culture and beauty of making or being a part of live music production and appreciation, specifically Jazz and the saxophone. With his music he aims to create a niche for the ‘fresh ear’. I ask him which elements in production he incorporates to get exactly this.
“To be honest I would be lying if said I had a set formula. The best part is that I don’t know any of it going in from the start of doing a song. If it’s a set recipe it won’t be fresh anymore. I’m just a musician and I see it this way, I make music and play the sax.You choose to call it Jazz, I say okay,” he smiles
“Fair enough. But if I had to get in there and make a quality Jazz song- what could I not go without?” I find myself thinking aloud… “Honesty and the intention that has to come straight from the soul because good music is honest. Spontaneity, a sense of adventure mixed with just a little bit of crazy. The rest is God willing,” he answers, smiling again.With the advent of his illustrious career since he graduated from UCT, Chonguica has played at countless international Jazz festivals all over the world.
Considering of course that he is a Southern Africa based musician, I ask him what about playing in Europe stood out the most for him? “I’d have to say the level of professionalism and discipline artists have for their work. The music distribution infrastructure is so much more fluid, it’s easier to get hold of all the music you enjoy listening to. What also became clear to me is that in Africa we tend to think our scene is smaller than Europe’s. I have learned it’s exactly the same, we just have less opportunity and exposure on media platforms than they do. But we’re getting there.”
Now in the thick of his booming career that shifts from one glorious high note to the next forming the beautiful melodies he has come to know as his life – after all the dust settles… I am curious as to how he would like to be remembered. “I would like to be remembered for my music , for who I am and the things I symbolise such as knowing where you come from and taking that wherever you go and naturally my contributions to society too.”Moreira is currently working on the production of a third special album. It pays homage and honours unsung Mozambican artists who never had the opportunity to have their music heard.For more info on this intriguing artist check out Chonguica’s website
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