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Wikipedia

Hugh Masekela

April 14, 2024

Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018)[1] was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and "Bring Him Back Home". He also had a number-one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of "Grazing in the Grass".

Hugh Masekela
Masekela performing in 2011
Born
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela

(1939-04-04)4 April 1939
Emalahleni, Union of South Africa
Died23 January 2018(2018-01-23) (aged 78)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Occupations
Years active1956–2018
ChildrenSelema Masekela
RelativesBarbara Masekela (sister)
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
Labels
Websitehughmasekela.co.za

Early life edit

Hugh Ramapolo Masekela was born in the township of KwaGuqa in Witbank (now called Emalahleni), South Africa, to Thomas Selena Masekela, who was a health inspector and sculptor and his wife, Pauline Bowers Masekela, a social worker.[2] His younger sister Barbara Masekela is a poet, educator and ANC activist. As a child, he began singing and playing piano and was largely raised by his grandmother, who ran an illegal bar for miners.[2] At the age of 14, after seeing the 1950 film Young Man with a Horn (in which Kirk Douglas plays a character modelled on American jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke), Masekela took up playing the trumpet. His first trumpet was bought for him from a local music store by Archbishop Trevor Huddleston,[3] the anti-apartheid chaplain at St. Peter's Secondary School now known as St. Martin's School (Rosettenville).[4][5]

Huddleston asked the leader of the then Johannesburg "Native" Municipal Brass Band, Uncle Sauda, to teach Masekela the rudiments of trumpet playing.[6] Masekela quickly mastered the instrument. Soon, some of his schoolmates also became interested in playing instruments, leading to the formation of the Huddleston Jazz Band, South Africa's first youth orchestra.[6] When Louis Armstrong heard of this band from his friend Huddleston he sent one of his own trumpets as a gift for Hugh.[3] By 1956, after leading other ensembles, Masekela joined Alfred Herbert's African Jazz Revue.[7]

From 1954, Masekela played music that closely reflected his life experience. The agony, conflict, and exploitation faced by South Africa during the 1950s and 1960s inspired and influenced him to make music and also spread political change. He was an artist who in his music vividly portrayed the struggles and sorrows, as well as the joys and passions of his country. His music protested about apartheid, slavery, government; the hardships individuals were living. Masekela reached a large population that also felt oppressed due to the country's situation.[8][9]

Following a Manhattan Brothers tour of South Africa in 1958, Masekela joined the orchestra of the musical King Kong, written by Todd Matshikiza.[10] King Kong was South Africa's first blockbuster theatrical success, touring the country for a sold-out year with Miriam Makeba and the Manhattan Brothers' Nathan Mdledle in the lead. The musical later went to London's West End for two years.[11]

Career edit

 
 
Masekela in Washington, D.C., 2007

At the end of 1959, Dollar Brand (later known as Abdullah Ibrahim), Kippie Moeketsi, Makhaya Ntshoko, Jonas Gwangwa, Johnny Gertze and Hugh formed the Jazz Epistles,[12] the first African jazz group to record an LP. They performed to record-breaking audiences in Johannesburg and Cape Town through late 1959 to early 1960.[2][13]

Following the 21 March 1960 Sharpeville massacre—where 69 protestors were shot dead in Sharpeville, and the South African government banned gatherings of ten or more people—and the increased brutality of the Apartheid state, Masekela left the country. He was helped by Trevor Huddleston and international friends such as Yehudi Menuhin and John Dankworth, who got him admitted into London's Guildhall School of Music in 1960.[14] During that period, Masekela visited the United States, where he was befriended by Harry Belafonte.[15] After securing a scholarship back in London,[2] Masekela moved to the United States to attend the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where he studied classical trumpet from 1960 to 1964.[16] In 1964, Miriam Makeba and Masekela were married, divorcing two years later.[16]

He had hits in the US with the pop jazz tunes "Up, Up and Away" (1967) and the number-one smash "Grazing in the Grass" (1968), which sold four million copies.[17] He also appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and was subsequently featured in the film Monterey Pop by D. A. Pennebaker and mentioned in the song Monterey by Eric Burdon & the Animals. In 1974, Masekela and friend Stewart Levine organised the Zaire 74 music festival in Kinshasa set around the Rumble in the Jungle boxing match.[18]

He played primarily in jazz ensembles, with guest appearances on recordings by the Byrds ("So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" and "Lady Friend") and Paul Simon ("Further to Fly"). In 1984, Masekela released the album Techno Bush; from that album, a single entitled "Don't Go Lose It Baby" peaked at number two for two weeks on the dance charts.[19] In 1987, he had a hit single with "Bring Him Back Home". The song became enormously popular, and turned into an unofficial anthem of the anti-apartheid movement and an anthem for the movement to free Nelson Mandela.[20][21]

A renewed interest in his African roots led Masekela to collaborate with West and Central African musicians, and finally to reconnect with Southern African players when he set up with the help of Jive Records a mobile studio in Botswana, just over the South African border, from 1980 to 1984. Here he re-absorbed and re-used mbaqanga strains, a style he continued to use following his return to South Africa in the early 1990s.[22]

In 1985 Masekela founded the Botswana International School of Music (BISM), which held its first workshop in Gaborone in that year.[23][24] The event, still in existence, continues as the annual Botswana Music Camp, giving local musicians of all ages and from all backgrounds the opportunity to play and perform together. Masekela taught the jazz course at the first workshop, and performed at the final concert.[25][26][27]

Also in the 1980s, Masekela toured with Paul Simon in support of Simon's album Graceland, which featured other South African artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Miriam Makeba, Ray Phiri, and other elements of the band Kalahari, which was co-founded by guitarist Banjo Mosele and which backed Masekela in the 1980s.[28] As well as recording with Kalahari,[29] he also collaborated in the musical development for the Broadway play Sarafina!, which premiered in 1988.[30][31]

In 2003, he was featured in the documentary film Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony. In 2004, he released his autobiography, Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, co-authored with journalist D. Michael Cheers,[32] which detailed Masekela's struggles against apartheid in his homeland, as well as his personal struggles with alcoholism from the late 1970s to the 1990s. In this period, he migrated, in his personal recording career, to mbaqanga, jazz/funk, and the blending of South African sounds, through two albums he recorded with Herb Alpert, and solo recordings, Techno-Bush (recorded in his studio in Botswana), Tomorrow (featuring the anthem "Bring Him Back Home"), Uptownship (a lush-sounding ode to American R&B), Beatin' Aroun de Bush, Sixty, Time, and Revival. His song "Soweto Blues", sung by his former wife, Miriam Makeba, is a blues/jazz piece that mourns the carnage of the Soweto riots in 1976.[33] He also provided interpretations of songs composed by Jorge Ben, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Caiphus Semenya, Jonas Gwangwa, Dorothy Masuka, and Fela Kuti.

In 2006 Masekela was described by Michael A. Gomez, professor of history and Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at New York University as "the father of African jazz."[34][35]

In 2009, Masekela released the album Phola (meaning "to get well, to heal"), his second recording for 4 Quarters Entertainment/Times Square Records. It includes some songs he wrote in the 1980s but never completed, as well as a reinterpretation of "The Joke of Life (Brinca de Vivre)", which he recorded in the mid-1980s. From October 2007, he was a board member of the Woyome Foundation for Africa.[36][37]

In 2010, Masekela was featured, with his son Selema Masekela, in a series of videos on ESPN. The series, called Umlando – Through My Father's Eyes, was aired in 10 parts during ESPN's coverage of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The series focused on Hugh's and Selema's travels through South Africa. Hugh brought his son to the places he grew up. It was Selema's first trip to his father's homeland.[38]

 
Masekela in 2013

On 3 December 2013, Masekela guested with the Dave Matthews Band in Johannesburg, South Africa. He joined Rashawn Ross on trumpet for "Proudest Monkey" and "Grazing in the Grass".[39]

In 2016, at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim performed together for the first time in 60 years, reuniting the Jazz Epistles in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the historic 16 June 1976 youth demonstrations.[40][41][42]

Social initiatives edit

Masekela was involved in several social initiatives, and served as a director on the board of the Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organization that provides a daily meal to students of township schools in Soweto.[43][44]

Personal life and death edit

From 1964 to 1966 Masekela was married to singer and activist Miriam Makeba.[45][46] He had subsequent marriages to Chris Calloway (daughter of Cab Calloway), Jabu Mbatha, and Elinam Cofie.[16] During the last few years of his life, he lived with the dancer Nomsa Manaka.[47] He was the father of American television host Selema Masekela.[44] Poet, educator, and activist Barbara Masekela is his younger sister.[48]

Masekela died in Johannesburg on the early morning of 23 January 2018 from prostate cancer, aged 78.[1][45][49]

Awards and honours edit

Masekela was honoured with a Google Doodle on 4 April 2019, which would have been his 80th birthday. The Doodle depicts Masekela, dressed in colourful shirt, playing a flugelhorn in front of a banner.[50]

Grammy history edit

Masekela was nominated for a Grammy Award three times, including a nomination for Best World Music Album for his 2012 album Jabulani, one for Best Musical Cast Show Album for Sarafina! The Music Of Liberation (1989) and one for Best Contemporary Pop Performance for the song "Grazing in the Grass" (1968).[22][51][52]

Hugh Masekela Grammy Awards history
Year Category Title Genre Label Result
1968 Best Contemporary Pop Performance – Instrumental Grazing in the Grass Pop Uni Nominated
1989 Best Musical Cast Show Album Sarafina! The Music Of Liberation Musical Sonet Nominated
2012 Best World Music Album Jabulani World Music Listen 2 Nominated

Honours edit

Discography edit

Albums edit

Year Title Label (original issue)
1962 Trumpet Africaine Mercury (Aug)[60]
1966 Grrr Mercury MG-21109, SR-61109 (Apr)[61]
1966 The Americanization of Ooga Booga MGM E/SE-4372 (Jun)[62]
1966 Hugh Masekela's Next Album MGM E/SE-4415 (Dec)[63]
1966 The Emancipation of Hugh Masekela Chisa Records CHS-4101[61]
1967 Hugh Masekela's Latest Uni 3010, 73010[61]
1967 Hugh Masekela Is Alive and Well at the Whiskey Uni 3015, 73015[61]
1968 The Promise of a Future Uni 73028[61]
1968 Africa '68 Uni 73020[64]
1968 The Lasting Impression of Hugh Masekela MGM E/SE-4468 (Dec)[61]
1969 Masekela Uni 73041[61]
1969 The Best Of Masekela Uni 73051
1970 Reconstruction Chisa CS 803 (Jul)[61]
1971 Hugh Masekela & The Union of South Africa Chisa CS 808 (May)[61]
1972 Home Is Where the Music Is (aka The African Connection) Blue Thumb Chisa BTS 6003[61]
1973 Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz Blue Thumb Chisa BTS 62[61]
1974 I Am Not Afraid Blue Thumb Chisa BTS 6015[61]
1975 The Boy's Doin' It Casablanca NBLP-7017 (Jun)[61]
1976 Colonial Man Casablanca NBLP-7023 (Jan)[61]
1976 Melody Maker Casablanca NBLP-7036[61]
1977 You Told Your Mama Not to Worry Casablanca NBLP-7079[61]
1978 Herb Alpert / Hugh Masekela Horizon SP-728[61]
1978 Main Event Live (with Herb Alpert) A&M SP-4727[61]
1982 Home Moonshine/Columbia[61]
1984 Techno-Bush Jive Afrika[61]
1985 Waiting for the Rain Jive Afrika[61]
1987 Tomorrow Warner Bros.[61]
1989 Uptownship Jive/Novus Records[61]
1992 Beatin' Aroun de Bush Novus Records[61]
1994 Hope Triloka Records[61]
1994 Stimela Connoisseur Collection[65]
1996 Notes of Life Columbia/Music[61]
1998 Black to the Future Shanachie Records[61]
1999 The Best of Hugh Masekela on Novus RCA[66]
1999 Sixty Shanachie[61]
2001 Grazing in the Grass: The Best of Hugh Masekela Sony[67]
2002 Time Columbia[61]
2002 Live at the BBC Strange Fruit[61]
2003 The Collection Universal/Spectrum[68]
2004 Still Grazing Blue Thumb[69]
2005 Revival Heads Up[61]
2005 Almost Like Being in Jazz Chissa Records[70]
2006 The Chisa Years: 1965–1975 (Rare and Unreleased) BBE[71]
2007 Live at the Market Theatre Four-Quarters Ent[61]
2009 Phola Four-Quarters Ent[61]
2012 Jabulani Listen 2[72]
2011 Friends (Hugh Masekela and Larry Willis) House of Masekela[73]
2012 Playing @ Work House of Masekela[74]
2016 No Borders Universal Music
2020 Rejoice (Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela) World Circuit

Chart singles edit

Year Single Chart Positions
US Pop[75] US
R&B[76]		 Can
1967 "Up-Up and Away" 71 47 -
1968 "Grazing in the Grass" 1 1 6
"Puffin' On Down the Track" 71 - 43
1969 "Riot" 55 21 55
1978 "Skokiaan"
with Herb Alpert 		- 87 -
1984 "Don't Go Lose It Baby" - 67 -

Autobiography edit

  • With D. Michael Cheers (2004). Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, Crown, ISBN 978-0-609-60957-6

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Hugh Masekela, South African jazz trumpeter, dies". BBC News. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Russonello, Giovanni (23 January 2018). "Hugh Masekela, Trumpeter and Anti-Apartheid Activist, Dies at 78". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b Lawley, Sue (16 July 2004). "Desert Islands Discs: Hugh Masekela". BBC. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  4. ^ Fairweather, Digby, The Rough Guide to Jazz, St. Martin's Press (2004), p. 13 – ISBN 0-312-27870-5.
  5. ^ Drury, Flora (23 January 2018). "Hugh Masekela: South Africa's 'Father of Jazz'". BBC. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  6. ^ a b . Enca.com. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  7. ^ Mojapelo, Max (2008). Beyond Memory: Recording the History, Moments and Memories of South African Music. African Minds. pp. 268–. ISBN 978-1-920299-28-6.
  8. ^ Stanley Niaah, Sonjah (2007). "Mapping of Black Atlantic Performance Geographies: From Slave Ship to Ghetto". In McKittrick, Katherine; Woods, Clyde Adrian (eds.). Black Geographies and the Politics of Place. Cambridge, MA: South End Press. pp. 193–217. ISBN 978-0-89608-773-6.
  9. ^ . Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  10. ^ "Hugh Masekela". Sahistory.org.za. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  11. ^ Betts, Graham (2014). Motown Encyclopedia. AC Publishing. ISBN 9781311441546.
  12. ^ "The Complete Recordings (feat. Hugh Masekela & Dollar Brand) by The Jazz Epistles on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Jazz Epistles w/ Abdullah Ibrahim, Wadada Leo Smith & Ekaya". Sfjazz.org. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Hugh Masekela". Thetimes.co.uk. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  15. ^ Oppenheim, Maya (23 January 2018). "South African jazz legend and apartheid activist Hugh Masekela dies". The Independent. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  16. ^ a b c d Denselow, Robin (23 January 2018). "Hugh Masekela obituary: South African jazz pioneer who fought the evil of apartheid". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  17. ^ Yanow, Scott. Trumpet Kings: The Players Who Shaped the Sound of Jazz Trumpet, Backbeat Books (2001), p. 248. ISBN 0-87930-608-4
  18. ^ Gringlas, Sam; Ari Shapiro (14 June 2017). "Before The Rumble In The Jungle, Music Rang Out At Zaire 74". NPR. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  19. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 168.
  20. ^ Haglund, David (5 December 2013). "It Is Music and Dancing That Makes Me at Peace With the World". Slate.com. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  21. ^ Greenwald, Matthew. "Hugh Masekela Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  22. ^ a b Smith, Harrison (23 January 2018). "Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter and a leading voice in the anti-apartheid movement, dies at 78". W.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  23. ^ Kaliss, Jeff (8 March 2011). "After Apartheid, His Music Brings Us Together". Sfcv.org. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  24. ^ Rahman, Fardin (17 January 2017). "Biography of Hugh Masekela". Sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  25. ^ Seretse, Gasebalwe (4 September 2009). "Mmegi Online :: Botswana Music Camp slated for December". Mmegi.bw. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  26. ^ "Music Camp Day 2". thoughtsfrombotswana.blogspot.co.uk. 10 December 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  27. ^ "Sources" (PDF). University of Pretoria. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  28. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 427. CN 5585.
  29. ^ "Hugh Masekela With Kalahari – Tomorrow". Discogs.com. 1987. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  30. ^ "Hugh Masekela". last.fm. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  31. ^ "Sarafina! Production History". Broadway World. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  32. ^ Masekela, Hugh. Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, Crown Publishers (2004), ISBN 0-609-60957-2.
  33. ^ Lusk, Jon (11 November 2008). "Miriam Makeba: Singer banned from her native South Africa for fighting". The Independent. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  34. ^ Gomez, Michael A. (2006). Diasporic Africa: A Reader. NYU Press. p. 18. ISBN 9780814731659.
  35. ^ "Diasporic Africa - A Reader". Nyupress.org. NYU Press. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  36. ^ Board members 2 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Woyome Foundation for Africa.
  37. ^ "Trumpet player and so much more, Hugh Masekela", African American Registry.
  38. ^ . Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  39. ^ "DMBAlmanac.com²". Dmbalmanac.com. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  40. ^ Podbrey, Gwen, "Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim to perform on one stage" 21 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Destinyman.com, 4 May 2016.
  41. ^ "Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya and Hugh Masekela: A Tribute to Jazz Epistles", News, Abdullah Ibrahim website, 13 May 2016.
  42. ^ "Hugh Masekela & Abdullah Ibrahim perform a tribute to the Jazz Epistles in JHB", Black Major, 15 June 2016.
  43. ^ "Hugh Masekela - Playing @ Work". Afropolitan.co.za. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  44. ^ a b (PDF). Thelunchboxfund.org. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  45. ^ a b Burke, Jason (23 January 2018). "Hugh Masekela, South African jazz trumpeter, dies aged 78". The Guardian.
  46. ^ Ewens, Graeme (11 November 2008). "Obituary: Miriam Makeba". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  47. ^ Zeeman, Kyle (29 January 2018). "Bra Hugh's last love, Nomsa Manaka : 'He was the most amazing person'". Times Live. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  48. ^ "Hugh Masekela: I’m still a work in progress", News24.com, 10 September 2014.
  49. ^ "Family Statement – HUGH MASEKELA". hughmasekela.co.za. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  50. ^ . Google.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  51. ^ "Hugh Masekela". Grammy.com. 14 May 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  52. ^ "Envelope". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  53. ^ "Rhodes gives Hugh Masekela an honorary doctorate", Times Live, 1 April 2015.
  54. ^ "University of York honours 16 for their contribution to society", University of York, 11 July 2014.
  55. ^ . 13 February 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  56. ^ . Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  57. ^ . All About Jazz. 15 August 2002. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008.
  58. ^ Hugh Masekela biography, IMDb.
  59. ^ "Best Of MTVMAMA 2016 – HUGH MASEKELA". Hughmasekela.co.za. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  60. ^ "Hugh Masekela: Trumpet Africaine". Dusty Groove. Dustygroove.com. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  61. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag "Hugh Masekela - Biography". Amoeba Music. Amoeba.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  62. ^ "Hugh Masekela: The Americanization Of Ooga Booga". Discogs. June 1966. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  63. ^ "Hugh Masekela: Hugh Masekela's Next Album: MGM RECORDS (1966)". Soundsoftheuniverse.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  64. ^ "Hugh Masekela: Promise of a Future". Dusty Groove. Dustygroove.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  65. ^ "Hugh Masekela – Stimela". Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  66. ^ "Hugh Masekela – Notes of Life". Discogs. Discogs.com. 1999. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  67. ^ "Hugh Masekela – Grazing In The Grass (The Best Of Hugh Masekela)". Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  68. ^ "Hugh Masekela – The Collection". Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  69. ^ "Still Grazing". Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  70. ^ "Hugh Masekela: Almost Like Being In Jazz". Dusty Groove. Dustygroove.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  71. ^ "Hugh Masekela – The Chisa Years 1965–1975 (Rare And Unreleased)". Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  72. ^ "Hugh Masekela – Jabulani". Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  73. ^ Hewett, Ivan (9 June 2015). "Hugh Masekela & Larry Willis, Barbican, review: 'royally entertaining'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  74. ^ "Hugh Masekela Enjoys Playing @ Work". Pri.org. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  75. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 448. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
  76. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995. Record Research. pp. 288–289. ISBN 0-89820-115-2.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hugh Masekela.
  • Official website
  • "Hugh Masekela – Legend of South African Music" a backstage interview with NYC Radio LIVE!, 2013
  • "Hugh Masekela archive interview" - a video interview with Robin Denselow of The Guardian, 2011
  • – a video interview on Charlie Rose, 2009
  • "Still Grazing - Hugh Masekela on coming home from exile" by Hugh Masekela and D. Michael Cheers, book extract at News24
  • "Hugh Masekela - Musician and Activist" – interview with Zeinab Badawi for HardTalk at BBC News, 2015

April 14, 2024
hugh, masekela, hugh, ramapolo, masekela, april, 1939, january, 2018, south, african, trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer, composer, described, father, south, african, jazz, masekela, known, jazz, compositions, writing, well, known, anti, apartheid, so. Hugh Ramapolo Masekela 4 April 1939 23 January 2018 1 was a South African trumpeter flugelhornist cornetist singer and composer who was described as the father of South African jazz Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well known anti apartheid songs such as Soweto Blues and Bring Him Back Home He also had a number one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of Grazing in the Grass Hugh MasekelaMasekela performing in 2011BornHugh Ramapolo Masekela 1939 04 04 4 April 1939Emalahleni Union of South AfricaDied23 January 2018 2018 01 23 aged 78 Johannesburg South AfricaOccupationsMulti instrumentalistsingercomposerbandleaderpolitical activistYears active1956 2018ChildrenSelema MasekelaRelativesBarbara Masekela sister Musical careerGenresAfropopjazzmbaqangaInstrument s TrumpetflugelhorntrombonecornetvocalsLabelsMercuryMGMUniChisaBlue ThumbCasablancaHeads UpVervePolyGramWebsitehughmasekela wbr co wbr za Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Social initiatives 4 Personal life and death 5 Awards and honours 5 1 Grammy history 5 2 Honours 6 Discography 6 1 Albums 6 2 Chart singles 7 Autobiography 8 References 9 External linksEarly life editHugh Ramapolo Masekela was born in the township of KwaGuqa in Witbank now called Emalahleni South Africa to Thomas Selena Masekela who was a health inspector and sculptor and his wife Pauline Bowers Masekela a social worker 2 His younger sister Barbara Masekela is a poet educator and ANC activist As a child he began singing and playing piano and was largely raised by his grandmother who ran an illegal bar for miners 2 At the age of 14 after seeing the 1950 film Young Man with a Horn in which Kirk Douglas plays a character modelled on American jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke Masekela took up playing the trumpet His first trumpet was bought for him from a local music store by Archbishop Trevor Huddleston 3 the anti apartheid chaplain at St Peter s Secondary School now known as St Martin s School Rosettenville 4 5 Huddleston asked the leader of the then Johannesburg Native Municipal Brass Band Uncle Sauda to teach Masekela the rudiments of trumpet playing 6 Masekela quickly mastered the instrument Soon some of his schoolmates also became interested in playing instruments leading to the formation of the Huddleston Jazz Band South Africa s first youth orchestra 6 When Louis Armstrong heard of this band from his friend Huddleston he sent one of his own trumpets as a gift for Hugh 3 By 1956 after leading other ensembles Masekela joined Alfred Herbert s African Jazz Revue 7 From 1954 Masekela played music that closely reflected his life experience The agony conflict and exploitation faced by South Africa during the 1950s and 1960s inspired and influenced him to make music and also spread political change He was an artist who in his music vividly portrayed the struggles and sorrows as well as the joys and passions of his country His music protested about apartheid slavery government the hardships individuals were living Masekela reached a large population that also felt oppressed due to the country s situation 8 9 Following a Manhattan Brothers tour of South Africa in 1958 Masekela joined the orchestra of the musical King Kong written by Todd Matshikiza 10 King Kong was South Africa s first blockbuster theatrical success touring the country for a sold out year with Miriam Makeba and the Manhattan Brothers Nathan Mdledle in the lead The musical later went to London s West End for two years 11 Career edit nbsp nbsp Masekela in Washington D C 2007 At the end of 1959 Dollar Brand later known as Abdullah Ibrahim Kippie Moeketsi Makhaya Ntshoko Jonas Gwangwa Johnny Gertze and Hugh formed the Jazz Epistles 12 the first African jazz group to record an LP They performed to record breaking audiences in Johannesburg and Cape Town through late 1959 to early 1960 2 13 Following the 21 March 1960 Sharpeville massacre where 69 protestors were shot dead in Sharpeville and the South African government banned gatherings of ten or more people and the increased brutality of the Apartheid state Masekela left the country He was helped by Trevor Huddleston and international friends such as Yehudi Menuhin and John Dankworth who got him admitted into London s Guildhall School of Music in 1960 14 During that period Masekela visited the United States where he was befriended by Harry Belafonte 15 After securing a scholarship back in London 2 Masekela moved to the United States to attend the Manhattan School of Music in New York where he studied classical trumpet from 1960 to 1964 16 In 1964 Miriam Makeba and Masekela were married divorcing two years later 16 He had hits in the US with the pop jazz tunes Up Up and Away 1967 and the number one smash Grazing in the Grass 1968 which sold four million copies 17 He also appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and was subsequently featured in the film Monterey Pop by D A Pennebaker and mentioned in the song Monterey by Eric Burdon amp the Animals In 1974 Masekela and friend Stewart Levine organised the Zaire 74 music festival in Kinshasa set around the Rumble in the Jungle boxing match 18 He played primarily in jazz ensembles with guest appearances on recordings by the Byrds So You Want to Be a Rock n Roll Star and Lady Friend and Paul Simon Further to Fly In 1984 Masekela released the album Techno Bush from that album a single entitled Don t Go Lose It Baby peaked at number two for two weeks on the dance charts 19 In 1987 he had a hit single with Bring Him Back Home The song became enormously popular and turned into an unofficial anthem of the anti apartheid movement and an anthem for the movement to free Nelson Mandela 20 21 A renewed interest in his African roots led Masekela to collaborate with West and Central African musicians and finally to reconnect with Southern African players when he set up with the help of Jive Records a mobile studio in Botswana just over the South African border from 1980 to 1984 Here he re absorbed and re used mbaqanga strains a style he continued to use following his return to South Africa in the early 1990s 22 In 1985 Masekela founded the Botswana International School of Music BISM which held its first workshop in Gaborone in that year 23 24 The event still in existence continues as the annual Botswana Music Camp giving local musicians of all ages and from all backgrounds the opportunity to play and perform together Masekela taught the jazz course at the first workshop and performed at the final concert 25 26 27 Also in the 1980s Masekela toured with Paul Simon in support of Simon s album Graceland which featured other South African artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo Miriam Makeba Ray Phiri and other elements of the band Kalahari which was co founded by guitarist Banjo Mosele and which backed Masekela in the 1980s 28 As well as recording with Kalahari 29 he also collaborated in the musical development for the Broadway play Sarafina which premiered in 1988 30 31 In 2003 he was featured in the documentary film Amandla A Revolution in Four Part Harmony In 2004 he released his autobiography Still Grazing The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela co authored with journalist D Michael Cheers 32 which detailed Masekela s struggles against apartheid in his homeland as well as his personal struggles with alcoholism from the late 1970s to the 1990s In this period he migrated in his personal recording career to mbaqanga jazz funk and the blending of South African sounds through two albums he recorded with Herb Alpert and solo recordings Techno Bush recorded in his studio in Botswana Tomorrow featuring the anthem Bring Him Back Home Uptownship a lush sounding ode to American R amp B Beatin Aroun de Bush Sixty Time and Revival His song Soweto Blues sung by his former wife Miriam Makeba is a blues jazz piece that mourns the carnage of the Soweto riots in 1976 33 He also provided interpretations of songs composed by Jorge Ben Antonio Carlos Jobim Caiphus Semenya Jonas Gwangwa Dorothy Masuka and Fela Kuti In 2006 Masekela was described by Michael A Gomez professor of history and Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at New York University as the father of African jazz 34 35 In 2009 Masekela released the album Phola meaning to get well to heal his second recording for 4 Quarters Entertainment Times Square Records It includes some songs he wrote in the 1980s but never completed as well as a reinterpretation of The Joke of Life Brinca de Vivre which he recorded in the mid 1980s From October 2007 he was a board member of the Woyome Foundation for Africa 36 37 In 2010 Masekela was featured with his son Selema Masekela in a series of videos on ESPN The series called Umlando Through My Father s Eyes was aired in 10 parts during ESPN s coverage of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa The series focused on Hugh s and Selema s travels through South Africa Hugh brought his son to the places he grew up It was Selema s first trip to his father s homeland 38 nbsp Masekela in 2013On 3 December 2013 Masekela guested with the Dave Matthews Band in Johannesburg South Africa He joined Rashawn Ross on trumpet for Proudest Monkey and Grazing in the Grass 39 In 2016 at Emperors Palace Johannesburg Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim performed together for the first time in 60 years reuniting the Jazz Epistles in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the historic 16 June 1976 youth demonstrations 40 41 42 Social initiatives editMasekela was involved in several social initiatives and served as a director on the board of the Lunchbox Fund a non profit organization that provides a daily meal to students of township schools in Soweto 43 44 Personal life and death editFrom 1964 to 1966 Masekela was married to singer and activist Miriam Makeba 45 46 He had subsequent marriages to Chris Calloway daughter of Cab Calloway Jabu Mbatha and Elinam Cofie 16 During the last few years of his life he lived with the dancer Nomsa Manaka 47 He was the father of American television host Selema Masekela 44 Poet educator and activist Barbara Masekela is his younger sister 48 Masekela died in Johannesburg on the early morning of 23 January 2018 from prostate cancer aged 78 1 45 49 Awards and honours editMasekela was honoured with a Google Doodle on 4 April 2019 which would have been his 80th birthday The Doodle depicts Masekela dressed in colourful shirt playing a flugelhorn in front of a banner 50 Grammy history edit Masekela was nominated for a Grammy Award three times including a nomination for Best World Music Album for his 2012 album Jabulani one for Best Musical Cast Show Album for Sarafina The Music Of Liberation 1989 and one for Best Contemporary Pop Performance for the song Grazing in the Grass 1968 22 51 52 Hugh Masekela Grammy Awards history Year Category Title Genre Label Result1968 Best Contemporary Pop Performance Instrumental Grazing in the Grass Pop Uni Nominated1989 Best Musical Cast Show Album Sarafina The Music Of Liberation Musical Sonet Nominated2012 Best World Music Album Jabulani World Music Listen 2 NominatedHonours edit Rhodes University Doctor of Music honoris causa 2015 53 University of York Honorary Doctorate in Music 2014 54 Order for Meritorious Service in silver 2003 Order of Ikhamanga in gold 2010 South African National Orders Ceremony 27 April 2010 16 Ghana Music Awards 2007 African Music Legend award 55 2005 Channel O Music Video Awards Lifetime Achievement Award 56 2002 BBC Radio Jazz Awards International Award of the Year 57 Nominated for Broadway s 1988 Tony Award for Best Score Musical with music and lyrics collaborator Mbongeni Ngema for Sarafina 58 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards MAMAs Legend Award 59 Discography editAlbums edit Year Title Label original issue 1962 Trumpet Africaine Mercury Aug 60 1966 Grrr Mercury MG 21109 SR 61109 Apr 61 1966 The Americanization of Ooga Booga MGM E SE 4372 Jun 62 1966 Hugh Masekela s Next Album MGM E SE 4415 Dec 63 1966 The Emancipation of Hugh Masekela Chisa Records CHS 4101 61 1967 Hugh Masekela s Latest Uni 3010 73010 61 1967 Hugh Masekela Is Alive and Well at the Whiskey Uni 3015 73015 61 1968 The Promise of a Future Uni 73028 61 1968 Africa 68 Uni 73020 64 1968 The Lasting Impression of Hugh Masekela MGM E SE 4468 Dec 61 1969 Masekela Uni 73041 61 1969 The Best Of Masekela Uni 730511970 Reconstruction Chisa CS 803 Jul 61 1971 Hugh Masekela amp The Union of South Africa Chisa CS 808 May 61 1972 Home Is Where the Music Is aka The African Connection Blue Thumb Chisa BTS 6003 61 1973 Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz Blue Thumb Chisa BTS 62 61 1974 I Am Not Afraid Blue Thumb Chisa BTS 6015 61 1975 The Boy s Doin It Casablanca NBLP 7017 Jun 61 1976 Colonial Man Casablanca NBLP 7023 Jan 61 1976 Melody Maker Casablanca NBLP 7036 61 1977 You Told Your Mama Not to Worry Casablanca NBLP 7079 61 1978 Herb Alpert Hugh Masekela Horizon SP 728 61 1978 Main Event Live with Herb Alpert A amp M SP 4727 61 1982 Home Moonshine Columbia 61 1984 Techno Bush Jive Afrika 61 1985 Waiting for the Rain Jive Afrika 61 1987 Tomorrow Warner Bros 61 1989 Uptownship Jive Novus Records 61 1992 Beatin Aroun de Bush Novus Records 61 1994 Hope Triloka Records 61 1994 Stimela Connoisseur Collection 65 1996 Notes of Life Columbia Music 61 1998 Black to the Future Shanachie Records 61 1999 The Best of Hugh Masekela on Novus RCA 66 1999 Sixty Shanachie 61 2001 Grazing in the Grass The Best of Hugh Masekela Sony 67 2002 Time Columbia 61 2002 Live at the BBC Strange Fruit 61 2003 The Collection Universal Spectrum 68 2004 Still Grazing Blue Thumb 69 2005 Revival Heads Up 61 2005 Almost Like Being in Jazz Chissa Records 70 2006 The Chisa Years 1965 1975 Rare and Unreleased BBE 71 2007 Live at the Market Theatre Four Quarters Ent 61 2009 Phola Four Quarters Ent 61 2012 Jabulani Listen 2 72 2011 Friends Hugh Masekela and Larry Willis House of Masekela 73 2012 Playing Work House of Masekela 74 2016 No Borders Universal Music2020 Rejoice Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela World CircuitChart singles edit Year Single Chart PositionsUS Pop 75 USR amp B 76 Can1967 Up Up and Away 71 47 1968 Grazing in the Grass 1 1 6 Puffin On Down the Track 71 431969 Riot 55 21 551978 Skokiaan with Herb Alpert 87 1984 Don t Go Lose It Baby 67 Autobiography editWith D Michael Cheers 2004 Still Grazing The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela Crown ISBN 978 0 609 60957 6References edit a b Hugh Masekela South African jazz trumpeter dies BBC News 23 January 2018 Retrieved 23 January 2018 a b c d Russonello Giovanni 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Trumpeter and Anti Apartheid Activist Dies at 78 The New York Times a b Lawley Sue 16 July 2004 Desert Islands Discs Hugh Masekela BBC Retrieved 7 July 2018 Fairweather Digby The Rough Guide to Jazz St Martin s Press 2004 p 13 ISBN 0 312 27870 5 Drury Flora 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela South Africa s Father of Jazz BBC Retrieved 23 January 2018 a b Father of South African jazz Hugh Masekela dies Enca com 23 January 2018 Archived from the original on 9 July 2018 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Mojapelo Max 2008 Beyond Memory Recording the History Moments and Memories of South African Music African Minds pp 268 ISBN 978 1 920299 28 6 Stanley Niaah Sonjah 2007 Mapping of Black Atlantic Performance Geographies From Slave Ship to Ghetto In McKittrick Katherine Woods Clyde Adrian eds Black Geographies and the Politics of Place Cambridge MA South End Press pp 193 217 ISBN 978 0 89608 773 6 Hugh Masekela Archived from the original on 14 February 2010 Retrieved 29 February 2008 Hugh Masekela Sahistory org za 17 February 2011 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Betts Graham 2014 Motown Encyclopedia AC Publishing ISBN 9781311441546 The Complete Recordings feat Hugh Masekela amp Dollar Brand by The Jazz Epistles on Apple Music Itunes apple com 1 January 2014 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Jazz Epistles w Abdullah Ibrahim Wadada Leo Smith amp Ekaya Sfjazz org Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Thetimes co uk 23 January 2018 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Oppenheim Maya 23 January 2018 South African jazz legend and apartheid activist Hugh Masekela dies The Independent Retrieved 23 January 2018 a b c d Denselow Robin 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela obituary South African jazz pioneer who fought the evil of apartheid The Guardian Retrieved 23 January 2018 Yanow Scott Trumpet Kings The Players Who Shaped the Sound of Jazz Trumpet Backbeat Books 2001 p 248 ISBN 0 87930 608 4 Gringlas Sam Ari Shapiro 14 June 2017 Before The Rumble In The Jungle Music Rang Out At Zaire 74 NPR Retrieved 23 January 2018 Whitburn Joel 2004 Hot Dance Disco 1974 2003 Record Research p 168 Haglund David 5 December 2013 It Is Music and Dancing That Makes Me at Peace With the World Slate com Retrieved 7 March 2015 Greenwald Matthew Hugh Masekela Bring Him Back Home Nelson Mandela AllMusic Retrieved 7 March 2015 a b Smith Harrison 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela South African trumpeter and a leading voice in the anti apartheid movement dies at 78 W washingtonpost com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Kaliss Jeff 8 March 2011 After Apartheid His Music Brings Us Together Sfcv org Retrieved 23 January 2018 Rahman Fardin 17 January 2017 Biography of Hugh Masekela Sahistory org za Retrieved 23 January 2018 Seretse Gasebalwe 4 September 2009 Mmegi Online Botswana Music Camp slated for December Mmegi bw Retrieved 23 January 2018 Music Camp Day 2 thoughtsfrombotswana blogspot co uk 10 December 2008 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Sources PDF University of Pretoria Retrieved 23 January 2018 Tobler John 1992 NME Rock N Roll Years 1st ed London Reed International Books Ltd p 427 CN 5585 Hugh Masekela With Kalahari Tomorrow Discogs com 1987 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela last fm Retrieved 23 January 2018 Sarafina Production History Broadway World Retrieved 20 April 2021 Masekela Hugh Still Grazing The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela Crown Publishers 2004 ISBN 0 609 60957 2 Lusk Jon 11 November 2008 Miriam Makeba Singer banned from her native South Africa for fighting The Independent Retrieved 23 January 2018 Gomez Michael A 2006 Diasporic Africa A Reader NYU Press p 18 ISBN 9780814731659 Diasporic Africa A Reader Nyupress org NYU Press Retrieved 23 January 2018 Board members Archived 2 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Woyome Foundation for Africa Trumpet player and so much more Hugh Masekela African American Registry ESPN Umlando Through My Father s Eyes Archived from the original on 21 June 2010 Retrieved 15 September 2021 DMBAlmanac com Dmbalmanac com Retrieved 15 September 2021 Podbrey Gwen Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim to perform on one stage Archived 21 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine Destinyman com 4 May 2016 Abdullah Ibrahim amp Ekaya and Hugh Masekela A Tribute to Jazz Epistles News Abdullah Ibrahim website 13 May 2016 Hugh Masekela amp Abdullah Ibrahim perform a tribute to the Jazz Epistles in JHB Black Major 15 June 2016 Hugh Masekela Playing Work Afropolitan co za 15 April 2013 Retrieved 23 January 2018 a b 2013 Annual Report PDF Thelunchboxfund org p 15 Archived from the original PDF on 24 January 2018 Retrieved 23 January 2018 a b Burke Jason 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela South African jazz trumpeter dies aged 78 The Guardian Ewens Graeme 11 November 2008 Obituary Miriam Makeba The Guardian Retrieved 23 January 2018 Zeeman Kyle 29 January 2018 Bra Hugh s last love Nomsa Manaka He was the most amazing person Times Live Retrieved 10 October 2020 Hugh Masekela I m still a work in progress News24 com 10 September 2014 Family Statement HUGH MASEKELA hughmasekela co za 23 January 2018 Retrieved 24 January 2018 Masekela Google Doodle Google com Archived from the original on 4 April 2019 Retrieved 25 April 2023 Hugh Masekela Grammy com 14 May 2017 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Envelope Los Angeles Times Retrieved 23 January 2018 Rhodes gives Hugh Masekela an honorary doctorate Times Live 1 April 2015 University of York honours 16 for their contribution to society University of York 11 July 2014 Africahit Aftermath Of The Ghana Music Awards 2007 13 February 2008 Archived from the original on 13 February 2008 Retrieved 5 March 2019 2005 Channel O Music Video Awards Archived from the original on 13 February 2008 Retrieved 15 September 2021 Winners of the BBC Radio Jazz Awards 2002 All About Jazz 15 August 2002 Archived from the original on 13 February 2008 Hugh Masekela biography IMDb Best Of MTVMAMA 2016 HUGH MASEKELA Hughmasekela co za 23 October 2016 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Trumpet Africaine Dusty Groove Dustygroove com Retrieved 26 April 2016 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag Hugh Masekela Biography Amoeba Music Amoeba com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela The Americanization Of Ooga Booga Discogs June 1966 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Hugh Masekela s Next Album MGM RECORDS 1966 Soundsoftheuniverse com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Promise of a Future Dusty Groove Dustygroove com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Stimela Discogs Discogs com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Notes of Life Discogs Discogs com 1999 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Grazing In The Grass The Best Of Hugh Masekela Discogs Discogs com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela The Collection Discogs Discogs com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Still Grazing Discogs Discogs com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Almost Like Being In Jazz Dusty Groove Dustygroove com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela The Chisa Years 1965 1975 Rare And Unreleased Discogs Discogs com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Jabulani Discogs Discogs com Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hewett Ivan 9 June 2015 Hugh Masekela amp Larry Willis Barbican review royally entertaining The Telegraph Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Hugh Masekela Enjoys Playing Work Pri org 25 June 2013 Retrieved 23 January 2018 Whitburn Joel 2003 Top Pop Singles 1955 2002 1st ed Menomonee Falls Wisconsin Record Research Inc p 448 ISBN 0 89820 155 1 Whitburn Joel 1996 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 1995 Record Research pp 288 289 ISBN 0 89820 115 2 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hugh Masekela Official website Hugh Masekela Legend of South African Music a backstage interview with NYC Radio LIVE 2013 Hugh Masekela archive interview a video interview with Robin Denselow of The Guardian 2011 A conversation with musician Hugh Masekela a video interview on Charlie Rose 2009 Still Grazing Hugh Masekela on coming home from exile by Hugh Masekela and D Michael Cheers book extract at News24 Hugh Masekela Musician and Activist interview with Zeinab Badawi for HardTalk at BBC News 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hugh Masekela amp oldid 1195704186, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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