South African musician (1939?2018)
Hugh Masekela
|
---|
Masekela performing in 2011
|
Born
| Hugh Ramapolo Masekela
(
1939-04-04
)
4 April 1939
|
---|
Died
| 23 January 2018
(2018-01-23)
(aged 78)
|
---|
Occupations
| |
---|
Years active
| 1956?2018
|
---|
Children
| Selema Masekela
|
---|
Relatives
| Barbara Masekela
(sister)
|
---|
Musical career
|
Genres
| |
---|
Instrument(s)
| |
---|
Labels
| |
---|
Musical artist
|
Website
| hughmasekela
.co
.za
|
---|
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
".
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
]
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
,
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]
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]
Honours
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
Albums
[
edit
]
Chart singles
[
edit
]
Autobiography
[
edit
]
References
[
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 & 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 & 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.com²"
.
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 & Ekaya and Hugh Masekela: A Tribute to Jazz Epistles"
, News, Abdullah Ibrahim website, 13 May 2016.
- ^
"Hugh Masekela & 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 & 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&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942?1995
. Record Research. pp.
288?289
.
ISBN
0-89820-115-2
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Studio albums
| |
---|
Compilation albums
| |
---|
Live albums
| |
---|
Singles
| |
---|
Books
| |
---|
|
---|
Studio albums
| |
---|
Compilations
| |
---|
Singles
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Academics
| |
---|
Artists
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|