(b Witbank, South Africa, 4 April 1939). Jazz trumpeter, flugelhorn player, singer, composer and spokesperson for the anti-apartheid movement. His style is characterized by an extensive use of melodies exploiting the upper registers of his instruments, ‘half-valve’ effects and repeated figures; his music brings together elements of jazz, rhythm and blues, South African jive, Afropop and the township styles of the late 20th century.
At the age of 14 he played in the Father Huddleston Jazz Band, and in 1959 he co-founded the Jazz Epistles with the trombonist Jonas Gwangwa, the clarinettist and saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi and the pianist Dollar Brand. Masekela first travelled overseas in a touring production of the musical King Kong; he emigrated to the USA in 1961, where he remained in exile for three decades. During the 1960s he played a form of African cool jazz and his career flourished; Grazing in the Grass topped the charts in 1968. In the 1970s he developed a more African-centred sound, recording with Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Dudu Pukwana, Makaya Ntshoko, Hedzollah Zoundz and Herb Alpert. He recorded with South African musicians in Botswana in 1982 and performed in Zimbabwe during Paul Simon's Graceland tour in 1987. His second major hit Bring Him Back Home (1987) became the anthem of Nelson Mandela's international tour in 1992. In 1992 Masekela returned to Johannesburg, where he continued his musical career; he has acted as a mentor to young musicians, opened a jazz club and supported the development of music education in South Africa.
GroveJ (C. de Ledesma)
R. Allingham: ‘South African Jazz: Hip Kings, Hip Queens’, World Music: the Rough Guide, i: Africa, Europe and the Middle East (London, 1999), 660–68
R. Wynn : ‘Hugh Masekela: Biography’ (1999), Ultimate Band List website 〈www.ubl.com〉
Grazing in the Grass, perf. H. Masekela, Uni 73028 (1968)
I Am Not Afraid, perf. H. Masekela and H. Zoundz, Chisa 6015 (1974)
Tomorrow, perf. H. Masekela and Kalahari, WEA 25472-2 (1987)
LOUISE MEINTJES