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Hugh Ramapolo Masekela^{[note 1]} (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018)^[1] was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who has been 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'.

• 6Awards and honours
• 7Discography

Discography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Masekela was born in the township of KwaGuqa in Witbank to Thomas Selena Masekela, who was a health inspector and sculptor and his wife, Pauline Bowers Masekela, a social worker.^[2] 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 South Africa faced 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 wound up in 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]

At the end of 1959, Dollar Brand (later known as Abdullah Ibrahim), Kippie Moeketsi, Makhaya Ntshoko, 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] he 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, Mariam Makeba and Masekela were married, divorcing two years later.^[16]

He had hits in the United States 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. 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!^[30]

Hugh Masekela Albums

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,^[31] 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.^[32] 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 South African jazz.'^[33][34]

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.^[35][36]

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.^[37]

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'.^[38]

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.^[39][40][41]

Hugh Masekela Hope

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.^[42][43]

Hugh Masekela Youtube

Personal life and death[edit]

From 1964 to 1966 he was married to singer and activist Miriam Makeba.^[44][45] He had subsequent marriages to Chris Calloway (daughter of Cab Calloway), Jabu Mbatha, and Elinam Cofie.^[16] He was the father of American television host Sal Masekela.^[43] Poet, educator, and activist Barbara Masekela is his younger sister.^[46]

Masekela died in Johannesburg on the early morning of 23 January 2018 from prostate cancer, aged 78.^[44][1][47]

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.

Grammy history[edit]

Masekela was nominated for an 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).^[48][49][22]

Honours[edit]

• Rhodes University: Doctor of Music (honoris causa), 2015^[50]
• University of York: Honorary Doctorate in Music 2014^[51]
• Order of Ikhamanga: 2010 South African National Orders Ceremony, 27 April 2010^[16]
• Ghana Music Awards: 2007 African Music Legend award^[52]
• 2005 Channel O Music Video Awards: Lifetime Achievement Award^[53]
• 2002 BBC Radio Jazz Awards: International Award of the Year^[54]
• Nominated for Broadway's 1988 Tony Award for Best Score (Musical), with music and lyrics collaborator Mbongeni Ngema, for Sarafina!^[55]
• 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs): Legend Award^[56]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

Chart singles[edit]

Autobiography[edit]

• With D. Michael Cheers (2004). Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, CrownISBN978-0-609-60957-6

Notes[edit]

1. ^Some sources give his name order as Ramapolo Hugh Masekela

References[edit]

1. ^ ^ab'Hugh Masekela, South African jazz trumpeter, dies'. BBC News. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
2. ^ ^abcdRussonello, Giovanni (23 January 2018). 'Hugh Masekela, Trumpeter and Anti-Apartheid Activist, Dies at 78'. The New York Times.
3. ^ ^abLawley, Sue (16 July 2004). 'Desert Islands Discs: Hugh Masekela'. Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
4. ^Fairweather, Digby, The Rough Guide to Jazz, St. Martin's Press (2004), p. 13 – ISBN0-312-27870-5.
5. ^Drury, Flora (23 January 2018). 'Hugh Masekela: South Africa's 'Father of Jazz''. Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
6. ^ ^ab''Father of South African jazz' Hugh Masekela dies'. Enca.com. 23 January 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–. ISBN978-1-920299-28-6.
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. ISBN978-0-89608-773-6.
9. ^Hugh Masekela at the Wayback Machine (archived 14 February 2010)
10. ^'Hugh Masekela'. Sahistory.org.za. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
11. ^Betts, Graham (2014). 'Motown Encyclopedia'. AC Publishing.
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. ^'South African jazz legend and apartheid activist Hugh Masekela dies'. Independent.co.uk. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
16. ^ ^abcdDenselow, 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. ISBN0-87930-608-4
18. ^'Before The Rumble In The Jungle, Music Rang Out At Zaire 74'. Npr.org. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
19. ^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 168.
20. ^Haglund, David. '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. ^ ^abSmith, 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. ^'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. ^'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. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
30. ^'Hugh Masekela'. last.fm. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
31. ^Masekela, Hugh. Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, Crown Publishers (2004), ISBN0-609-60957-2.
32. ^Lusk, Jon (11 November 2008). 'Miriam Makeba: Singer banned from her native South Africa for fighting'. Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
33. ^Gomez, Michael A. (2006). Diasporic Africa: A Reader. NYU Press. ISBN9780814731659.
34. ^'Diasporic Africa - A Reader - Books - NYU Press - NYU Press'. Nyupress.org. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
35. ^Board members, Woyome Foundation for Africa.
36. ^'Trumpet player and so much more, Hugh Masekela', African American Registry.
37. ^ESPN – Umlando – Through My Father's Eyes.Archived 21 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
38. ^'DMBAlmanac.com²'. dmbalmanac.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
39. ^Podbrey, Gwen, 'Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim to perform on one stage', Destinyman.com, 4 May 2016.
40. ^'Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya and Hugh Masekela: A Tribute to Jazz Epistles', News, Abdullah Ibrahim website, 13 May 2016.
41. ^'Hugh Masekela & Abdullah Ibrahim perform a tribute to the Jazz Epistles in JHB', Black Major, 15 June 2016.
42. ^'Hugh Masekela - Playing @ Work'. Afropolitan.co.za. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
43. ^ ^ab'2013 Annual Report'(PDF). Thelunchboxfund.org. p. 15. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
44. ^ ^abBurke, Jason (23 January 2018). 'Hugh Masekela, South African jazz trumpeter, dies aged 78'. The Guardian.
45. ^Ewens, Graeme (11 November 2008). 'Obituary: Miriam Makeba'. the Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
46. ^'Hugh Masekela: I’m still a work in progress', News24.com, 10 September 2014.
47. ^'Family Statement – HUGH MASEKELA'. hughmasekela.co.za. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
48. ^'Hugh Masekela'. Grammy.com. 14 May 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
49. ^'Envelope – Los Angeles Times'. Latimes.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
50. ^'Rhodes gives Hugh Masekela an honorary doctorate', Times Live, 1 April 2015.
51. ^'University of York honours 16 for their contribution to society', University of York, 11 July 2014.
52. ^'Africahit - Aftermath Of The Ghana Music Awards 2007'. Web.archive.org. 13 February 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
53. ^2005 Channel O Music Video Awards.Archived 13 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
54. ^'Winners of the BBC Radio Jazz Awards 2002'. All About Jazz. 15 August 2002. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008.Cite uses deprecated parameter deadurl= (help)
55. ^Hugh Masekela biography, IMDb.
56. ^'Best Of MTVMAMA 2016 – HUGH MASEKELA'. Hughmasekela.co.za. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
57. ^'Hugh Masekela: Trumpet Africaine'. Dusty Groove. Dustygroove.com. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
58. ^ ^{abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafag}'Hugh Masekela - Biography'. Amoeba Music. Amoeba.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
59. ^'Hugh Masekela: The Americanization Of Ooga Booga'. Discogs. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
60. ^'Hugh Masekela: Hugh Masekela's Next Album: MGM RECORDS (1966)'. Soundsoftheuniverse.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
61. ^'Hugh Masekela: Promise of a Future'. Dusty Groove. Dustygroove.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
62. ^'Hugh Masekela – Stimela'. Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
63. ^'Hugh Masekela – Notes of Life'. Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
64. ^'Hugh Masekela – Grazing In The Grass (The Best Of Hugh Masekela)'. Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
65. ^'Hugh Masekela – The Collection'. Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
66. ^'Still Grazing'. Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
67. ^'Hugh Masekela: Almost Like Being In Jazz'. Dusty Groove. Dustygroove.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
68. ^'Hugh Masekela – The Chisa Years 1965–1975 (Rare And Unreleased)'. Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
69. ^'Hugh Masekela – Jabulani'. Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
70. ^Hewett, Ivan (9 June 2015). 'Hugh Masekela & Larry Willis, Barbican, review: 'royally entertaining''. The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
71. ^'Hugh Masekela Enjoys Playing @ Work'. Pri.org. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
72. ^'No Borders - Hugh Masekela'. Amazon.com. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
73. ^Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 448. ISBN0-89820-155-1.
74. ^Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. pp. 288–289. ISBN0-89820-115-2.

External links[edit]

• '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