Hugh Masekela

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Masekela (2009)

Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (born April 4, 1939 in Witbank ; † January 23, 2018 in Johannesburg ), also called Bra Hugh , was a South African trumpeter , flugelhorn player , cornet player , pianist, singer and composer. He is considered one of the most important jazz and world music pioneers from South Africa. In many of his texts from the apartheid period , he criticized the harsh living conditions at the time. It has been nominated three times for a Grammy and has won numerous other awards.

Life and effect

Youth and first successes in South Africa

Masekela's father Thomas Selema Masekela was a headmaster, miner, health inspector and sculptor, his mother Pauline a social worker; the family lived in KwaGuqa township . Hugh Masekela was the first of four children. He sang and played the piano as a child. He spent his youth in Alexandra , a district of Johannesburg . He switched to the trumpet at the age of fourteen after seeing the Hollywood film Young Man with a Horn starring Kirk Douglas in the role of Bix Beiderbecke . On the mediation of the British clergyman and anti- apartheid activist Trevor Huddleston - who was also his headmaster at St Peter's College - he learned the instrument from 1954 with the director of the Johannesburg “Native” Municipal Brass Band, Uncle Saude, and played in the Huddleston Jazz band jive and other dance music. Because of his great talent, he received a trumpet from Louis Armstrong in 1956 . He then worked at Zacks Nkosi before joining the ensemble of the musical King Kong , with which he also appeared in London . With Kippie Moeketsi , Jonas Gwangwa , Dollar Brand , Johnny Gertze and Makaya Ntshoko , he formed the Jazz Epistles in 1959 , which successfully found their own South African approach to hard bop and recorded the first modern jazz album in South Africa (verse 1) . He left the country after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960.

Decades in exile

Masekela first lived in London, where he studied at the Guildhall School of Music with the support of Yehudi Menuhin and Johnny Dankworth . At the urging of the singer Miriam Makeba , who was also living in exile in the USA, he moved to New York with the help of Harry Belafonte , where he met Dizzy Gillespie and other well-known jazz musicians on the first evening and then at the Manhattan School of Music studied. In 1963, Trumpet Africaine was his first solo album. In his 1965 album grrr , Masekela mixed elements of Kwela and Mbaqanga music with jazz and funk for the first time . From 1964 to 1966 he was married to Miriam Makeba, with whom he also performed together. After the split, he moved to Los Angeles . In 1967 he performed at the Monterey Pop Festival . He gave concerts with the Byrds and played the trumpet solo on their So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star. In 1968 he had his biggest hit with the instrumental piece Grazing in the Grass (on the album The Promise of a Future ). Among other things, it reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA . For the piece, Masekela was nominated for a Grammy in the category Best Contemporary Pop Performance - Instrumental . His 1969 album Masekela was hardly played on the radio in the USA because it turned radically against racism and apartheid. Masekela performed at times under the name Disco Kid and played dance music. In 1971 he played with the Jazz Crusaders . It was he who recommended the band to shorten it to The Crusaders . In pieces between fusion jazz , rhythm and blues , afrobeat and mbaqanga, Masekela from then on mostly preferred a quieter pace.

He left the USA and then lived successively in Guinea , Zaire and Nigeria . There he was active from 1973 with Fela Kuti and the band Hedzoleh Soundz , with whom he recorded several albums. In 1974 Masekela initiated together with the music producer Stewart Levine the music festival Zaire 74, which was to take place at the same time as the later postponed boxing world championship fight " Rumble in the Jungle ". In 1976, under the influence of the Soweto uprising, the piece Soweto Blues was written, which was recorded in Ghana . He returned to his home region for the first time at Christmas 1980 when he performed in front of 75,000 spectators together with Miriam Makeba in Lesotho . In 1981 he moved to Gaborone , Botswana , where he ran a music school for various musical styles. During this time, his album Techno-Bus with the song Don't Go Lose It Baby was released , which reached top positions in the US dance charts. However, after an attack by the South African Defense Force on his music school with 16 dead, he left the country again. This was followed by his production of the Broadway musical Sarafina! , which was also internationally successful, and in 1987 participation in Paul Simon's “ Graceland ” tour on several continents. With his backing band Kalahari, he recorded the song Bring Him Back Home (Mandela) , which called for Nelson Mandela's release from prison. The piece also brought great success again in 1987, but was not allowed to be played in South Africa. In 1988 Masekela took part in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Concert in London. After Mandela was actually released in 1990, Bring Him Back Home (Mandela) was played as the anthem on Mandela's subsequent "world tour" .

Return to South Africa

In 1990 Masekela returned to South Africa as part of the abolition of apartheid. In 1991 it went under the motto Sekunyalo - This Is It! on tour in South Africa for the first time with the bands Sankomota and Bayete . He was also a guest musician on the album Underground of the 29th Street Saxophone Quartet wind ensemble .

Hugh Masekela (2007)

In 2004 Masekela's autobiography Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela appeared , which he wrote with D. Michael Cheers. In June 2010 he played as the opener at the opening concert of the 2010 Soccer World Cup . In the same year he was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in gold. He also composed the musical Songs of Migration. In 2011 he received a lifetime achievement award at the WOMEX World Music Expo in Copenhagen.

Hugh Masekela (right) with Larry Willis (2016)

On February 13, 2011 Masekela appeared as a guest musician at the concert of the Irish rock band U2 at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg . He also played the trumpet for the song I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For . This appearance appeared on the U2 live double album U22: A 22 Track Live Collection from U2360 ° . In 2012, Masekela's own label House of Masekela released the 4-album set Friends , which mainly contains duets with the American jazz pianist Larry Willis , with whom he attended the Manhattan School of Music in the 1960s. In April 2016, he played on International Jazz Day at the White House in Washington, DC.In 2017, he was responsible for the performance of the play Gone Native - The Life and Times of Regina Brooks , for which he also wrote the music.

Masekela last lived alternately in South Africa and the United States. He was married to the Ghanaian Elinam Cofie for the fourth time from 1999 to 2013. His son Selema "Sal" Masekela (* 1971), whose mother is a Haitian , works in the USA as a sports journalist, actor and singer.

Hugh Masekela died in January 2018 at the age of 78 from complications from prostate cancer . He was buried in West Park Cemetery in Johannesburg.

Others

  • Masekela worked on numerous other recordings by other musicians, including one of Bob Marley's first albums .
  • As of October 2007 he had a seat on the board of directors of the Woyome Foundation . He was committed to the preservation of the "African heritage". He also included the legacy from the colonial era.
  • Hugh Masekela's sister Barbara Masekela also lived in exile for a long time and represented the African National Congress there . Later she was the South African ambassador to France and the USA.

Awards

Discography

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US R&B R&B
1965 The Emancipation of Hugh Masekela - R&B24 (9 weeks)
R&B
University
1967 Hugh Masekela's Latest US151 (10 weeks)
US 		-
University
1968 Is Alive And Well At The Whiskey US90 (10 weeks)
US 		R&B7 (7 weeks)
R&B
Mercury
The Promise of a Future US17 (22 weeks)
US 		R&B2 (27 weeks)
R&B
University
1969 Masekela US195 (2 weeks)
US 		R&B45 (2 weeks)
R&B
University
1974 I am not afraid US149 (4 weeks)
US 		R&B35 (12 weeks)
R&B
Blue Thumb
1975 The Boys Doin 'It US132 (9 weeks)
US 		R&B18 (12 weeks)
R&B
Casablanca
1976 Colonial Man - R&B42 (6 weeks)
R&B
Casablanca
1977 Melody Maker - R&B55 (1 week)
R&B
Casablanca
1978 Herb Alpert + Hugh Masekela US65 (19 weeks)
US 		-

More albums

  • Trumpet Africaine (1963)
  • grrr (1965, Mercury)
  • The Lasting Impression of Hugh Masekela (1965, Verve)
  • The Americanization Of Ooga Booga (1965, Verve)
  • Hugh Masekela's Next Album (1966, MGM)
  • Hugh Masekela (1968, Mercury Wing)
  • Africa '68 (1968, university)
  • Hugh Masekela & the Union of South Africa (with Jonas Gwangwa and Caiphus Semenya )
  • Home Is Where the Heart Is (1972, Blue Thumb Chisa, also called African Connection with Dudu Pukwana , Larry Willis , Eddie Gomez and Makaya Ntshoko)
  • Home Is Where the Music Is (1972, MCA)
  • Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz (1973, Blue Thumb)
  • Still Grazing (Compilation 1966–1974, Blue Thumb)
  • You Told Your Mama Not to Worry (1977, Casablanca)
  • Main Event Live (1979, A&M, with Herb Alpert )
  • Techno Bush (1984, Jive)
  • Waiting for the Rain (1985, Jive)
  • Sarafina (1987, Shanachie, with Mbongeni Ngema)
  • tomorrow (1987, wea, together with Kalahari: John B "Longwe" Selolwane, Mopati "Bully" Tsienyane, Banjo T Mosele, Michael Timothy, Francis Fuster, Aubrei Oaki, Sonti Mndebele)
  • Uptownship (1989, Novus)
  • Beatin 'Aroun De Bush (1992, Novus)
  • Hope (1993, Triloka, with Ngenekhaya Mahlanghu, Themba Mkhize , Lawrence Matshiza, Bakithi Kumalo, Damon Duewhite, Remi Kabaka )
  • Black to the Future (1999, Shanachie)
  • Sixty (2000, Shanachie)
  • Time (2002, Sony Jazz)
  • Almost Like Being in Jazz (2005, Chissa)
  • Revival (2005, Heads Up)
  • Live at the Market Theater (2006, 4Q)
  • Phola (2009, noble)
  • Jabulani (2010, Gallo)
  • Hugh Masekela and Larry Willis: Friends (2012, House of Masekela)
  • Playing @ Work (2013, House of Masekela)
  • Reconstruction (2015, House of Masekela)
  • No Borders (2016, Universal Music)
  • Live in Lesotho (2019, Matsuli Music, with Hugh Masekela & Company, recordings from 1970)
  • Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela: rejoice (2020 World Circuit / BMG; Best List Prize of the German Record Critics )

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
UK UK US US R&B R&B
1968 Up-Up And Away - US71 (8 weeks)
US 		R&B47 (2 weeks)
R&B
Grazing In The Grass - US1
gold
gold

(12 weeks)US 		R&B1 (14 weeks)
R&B
Puffin 'On Down The Track - US71 (5 weeks)
US 		-
1969 Riot - US55 (8 weeks)
US 		R&B21 (6 weeks)
R&B
1978 Skokian - - R&B87 (5 weeks)
R&B
with Herb Alpert
1984 Don't Go Lose It Baby - - R&B67 (7 weeks)
R&B
1987 Bring Him Back Home UK88 (5 weeks)
UK 		- -

literature

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

Web links

Commons : Hugh Masekela  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hugh Masekela is dead. Der Spiegel , January 23, 2018, accessed on January 23, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Masekela at ritmoartists.com ( Memento of February 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on September 14, 2012
  3. ↑ Hugh Masekela . In: GRAMMY.com . May 14, 2017 ( grammy.com [accessed January 24, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Portrait of Thomas Selema Masekela at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on June 23, 2016
  5. ↑ a b c d Hugh Masekela soundtrack. wdr.de, accessed on January 23, 2018
  6. ↑ a b Portrait of Barbara Masekela at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on June 23, 2016
  7. ↑ a b c d biography at dougpayne.com (English), accessed on May 14, 2016
  8. ↑ a b c d e Jeff Kallis: After apartheid, his music brings us together. sfcv.org of March 8, 2011 (English), accessed May 15, 2016
  9. ↑ a b c d e biography on Masekela's homepage ( Memento from February 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  10. ↑ Chris May: Hugh Masekela: Masekela '66 - '76. allaboutjazz.com from May 11, 2019 (English), accessed October 4, 2019
  11. ↑ a b c Hugh Masekela on culturebase.net ( Memento from June 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ a b List of the 2010 winners from sabinetlaw.co.za (English), accessed on June 16, 2014
  13. ↑ U2 - U22: A 22 Track Live Collection From U2360 °. Discogs , accessed January 31, 2016 .
  14. ↑ Obama hosts jazz concert at 'Blues House'. nation.co.ke, May 1, 2016, accessed May 13, 2016
  15. ↑ Chrizelda Kekana: Hugh Masekela bounces back from surgery to direct new stage production. dispatchlive.co.za from July 30, 2017 (English), accessed on January 23, 2018
  16. ↑ Rebecca Davis: RIP Hugh Masekela, a true South African legend. Daily Maverick, January 23, 2018, accessed January 23, 2018
  17. ↑ Hugh Masekela: South African jazz legend is dead. Spiegel.de from January 23, 2018, accessed on January 23, 2018
  18. ↑ Jazz legend Hugh Masekela laid to rest. sowetanlive.co.za, January 30, 2018, accessed February 22, 2018
  19. ↑ Report on the award of an honorary doctorate from Rhodes University 2015 ( Memento from June 23, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  20. ↑ Appreciation on the occasion of the award of the Order of Luthuli in Silver ( Memento from December 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on June 23, 2016
  21. ↑ List of recipients of the medal 1999 (English), accessed on August 25, 2018
  22. ↑ List of the 2002 award winners allaboutjazz.com (English), accessed on May 15, 2016
  23. ↑ Kora Awards 2005 winners. francomix.com (English), accessed on August 26, 2018
  24. ↑ Mentioned at educationgy.org (English), accessed June 12, 2016
  25. ^ Hugh Masekela awarded honorary doctorate. musicinafrica.net, accessed on May 15, 2016
  26. ^ Hugh Masekela: Be pioneers of African heritage restoration. hughmasekela.co.za, accessed September 5, 2017
  27. ↑ a b Chart sources: UK US
  28. ↑ Music Sales Awards: US
personal data
SURNAME Masekela, Hugh
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Masekela, Hugh Ramapolo (full name); Masekela, Ramapolo Hugh (full name); Bra Hugh (nickname); Disco Kid (stage name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African musician
DATE OF BIRTH April 4, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Witbank
DATE OF DEATH 23rd January 2018
Place of death Johannesburg