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Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter,
flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though som ...
ist,
cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...
ist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of
South African jazz South African jazz is the jazz of South Africa. History The jazz scene in South Africa grew much as it did in the United States. Through performances in nightclubs, dances, and other venues, musicians had the opportunity to play music often. Music ...
". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known
anti-apartheid songs The apartheid regime in South Africa began in 1948 and lasted until 1994. It involved a system of institutionalized racial segregation and white supremacy, and placed all political power in the hands of a white minority. Opposition to apart ...
such as " Soweto Blues" and "
Bring Him Back Home "Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)", also known as "Bring Him Back Home", is an anthemic anti-apartheid protest song written by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was released as the first track of his 1987 album '' Tomorrow''. It was ...
". He also had a number-one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of " Grazing in the Grass".


Early life

Hugh Ramapolo Masekela was born in the township of KwaGuqa in
Witbank Witbank (), officially Emalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where ...
(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. 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. At the age of 14, after seeing the 1950 film '' Young Man with a Horn'' (in which
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. D ...
plays a character modelled on American jazz cornetist
Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...
), Masekela took up playing the trumpet. His first trumpet was bought for him from a local music store by Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, the anti-apartheid chaplain at St. Peter's Secondary School now known as St. Martin's School (Rosettenville). Huddleston asked the leader of the then
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
"Native" Municipal Brass Band, Uncle Sauda, to teach Masekela the rudiments of trumpet playing. 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. When
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...
heard of this band from his friend Huddleston he sent one of his own trumpets as a gift for Hugh. By 1956, after leading other ensembles, Masekela joined Alfred Herbert's African Jazz Revue. 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 Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
,
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, government; the hardships individuals were living. Masekela reached a large population that also felt oppressed due to the country's situation. Following a Manhattan Brothers tour of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
in 1958, Masekela wound up in the orchestra of the musical '' King Kong'', written by Todd Matshikiza. ''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.


Career

At the end of 1959, Dollar Brand (later known as Abdullah Ibrahim), Kippie Moeketsi,
Makhaya Ntshoko Makaya (or Makhaya) Ntshoko (born 29 October 1939, Cape Town) is a South African drummer. He played with Dollar Brand's trio in 1958, and recorded in a sextet with Hugh Masekela and John Mehegan in 1959. He performed on The Jazz Epistles albu ...
, Jonas Gwangwa, Johnny Gertze and Hugh formed the Jazz Epistles, the first African jazz group to record an LP. They performed to record-breaking audiences in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
and
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
through late 1959 to early 1960. Following the 21 March 1960
Sharpeville massacre The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd ...
—where 69 protestors were shot dead in
Sharpeville Sharpeville (also spelled Sharpville) is a township situated between two large industrial cities, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging, in southern Gauteng, South Africa. Sharpeville is one of the oldest of six townships in the Vaal Triangle. It was ...
, 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 Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...
and
John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...
, who got him admitted into London's
Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and ja ...
in 1960. During that period, Masekela visited the United States, where he was befriended by
Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an internati ...
. After securing a scholarship back in London, Masekela moved to the United States to attend the
Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in m ...
in New York, where he studied classical trumpet from 1960 to 1964. In 1964, Miriam Makeba and Masekela were married, divorcing two years later. 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. He also appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and was subsequently featured in the film ''
Monterey Pop ''Monterey Pop'' is a 1968 American concert film by D. A. Pennebaker that documents the Monterey International Pop Festival of 1967. Among Pennebaker's several camera operators were fellow documentarians Richard Leacock and Albert Maysles. The ...
'' by
D. A. Pennebaker Donn Alan Pennebaker (; July 15, 1925 – August 1, 2019) was an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of direct cinema. Performing arts and politics were his primary subjects. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci ...
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 Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...
set around the Rumble in the Jungle boxing match. He played primarily in jazz ensembles, with guest appearances on recordings by
the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...
(" So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" and "
Lady Friend "Lady Friend" is a song by the American rock band the Byrds, written by band member David Crosby and released as a single on July 13, 1967. The single reached number 82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but failed to chart in the United Kingdom. " ...
") and
Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
("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. In 1987, he had a hit single with "
Bring Him Back Home "Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)", also known as "Bring Him Back Home", is an anthemic anti-apartheid protest song written by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was released as the first track of his 1987 album '' Tomorrow''. It was ...
". 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 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
. A renewed interest in his African roots led Masekela to collaborate with
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
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 Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
, 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. In 1985 Masekela founded the Botswana International School of Music (BISM), which held its first workshop in
Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...
in that year. 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. Also in the 1980s, Masekela toured with
Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
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. As well as recording with Kalahari, he also collaborated in the musical development for the Broadway play '' Sarafina!'', which premiered in 1988. 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, 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 Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...
, 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 Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
/jazz piece that mourns the carnage of the Soweto riots in 1976. He also provided interpretations of songs composed by
Jorge Ben Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes (born March 22, 1939) is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben Jor since the 1980s, though commonly known by his former stage name Jorge Ben (). His characteristic style fuses samba, ...
,
Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered one of the great exponents of Brazilian mu ...
,
Caiphus Semenya Caiphus Semenya (born 19 August 1939) is a South African composer and musician. He was born in Alexandra, Gauteng, Johannesburg, South Africa. He left South Africa for Los Angeles, California, United States, in the 1960s, together with his wife ...
, Jonas Gwangwa,
Dorothy Masuka Dorothy Masuka (3 September 1935, in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) – 23 February 2019, in Johannesburg, South AfricaFela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pi ...
. In 2006 Masekela was described by Michael A. Gomez, professor of history and Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
as "the father of African jazz." 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. In 2010, Masekela was featured, with his son Selema Masekela, in a series of videos on
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
. The series, called ''Umlando – Through My Father's Eyes'', was aired in 10 parts during ESPN's coverage of the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
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. 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". 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.


Social initiatives

Masekela was involved in several social initiatives, and served as a director on the board of
the Lunchbox Fund The Lunchbox Fund is a non-profit organization providing a daily meal for orphaned and vulnerable school children in township and rural areas of South Africa. The organization was founded by South African model Topaz Page-Green. The Board of Dir ...
, a non-profit organization that provides a daily meal to students of township schools in
Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a ...
.


Personal life and death

From 1964 to 1966 Masekela was married to singer and activist Miriam Makeba. He had subsequent marriages to Chris Calloway (daughter of
Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalis ...
), Jabu Mbatha, and Elinam Cofie. During the last few years of his life, he lived with the dancer Nomsa Manaka. He was the father of American television host Sal Masekela. Poet, educator, and activist Barbara Masekela is his younger sister. Masekela died in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
on the early morning of 23 January 2018 from
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...
, aged 78.


Awards and honours

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 The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though som ...
in front of a banner.


Grammy history

Masekela was nominated for a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
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).


Honours

* Rhodes University: Doctor of Music (honoris causa), 2015 *
University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for post-nominals) is a collegiate research university, located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, co ...
: Honorary Doctorate in Music 2014 * Order of Ikhamanga: 2010 South African National Orders Ceremony, 27 April 2010 *Ghana Music Awards: 2007 African Music Legend award *2005 Channel O Music Video Awards: Lifetime Achievement Award *2002 BBC Radio Jazz Awards: International Award of the Year *Nominated for Broadway's 1988 Tony Award for Best Score (Musical), with music and lyrics collaborator Mbongeni Ngema, for '' Sarafina!'' *2016 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs): Legend Award


Discography


Albums


Chart singles


Autobiography

* With D. Michael Cheers (2004). '' Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela'', Crown,


References


External links


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 ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'', 2011
"A conversation with musician Hugh Masekela"
– a video interview on ''
Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP. Rose also co- ...
'', 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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Masekela, Hugh 1939 births 2018 deaths Jazz cornetists South African jazz trumpeters South African expatriates in the United States Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Heads Up International artists Jive Records artists Mercury Records artists MGM Records artists Uni Records artists Verve Records artists Anti-apartheid activists South African autobiographers South African jazz composers People from Witbank Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga Deaths from prostate cancer Deaths from cancer in South Africa The Jazz Epistles members Burials at Westpark Cemetery 20th-century South African male singers 21st-century South African male singers Blue Thumb Records artists