Tuku’s tears for Bra Hugh

The two musos were working on a collaborative album

Zimbabwe’s music legend Oliver Mtukudzi still finds it difficult to accept that his friend Hugh Masekela is gone.

As he speaks, Mtukudzi pauses many times, even his voice quivers. His emotions and hurt are etched in his face.

Speaking to Sowetan, the internationally acclaimed singer of Neria and Todii fame said what made it difficult was that he had spoken to him a day before his death.

“I saw him in the afternoon. The next day I get the message that he is gone, I could not believe it. He inspired me a lot.”

Masekela died on Tuesday following a struggle with cancer. When he died, the two legends were working on a collaborative album.

The recording process had already began, with three songs already in the bag.

“We all thought he was going to get better so that we could continue recording, since we were both busy, we halted the project.”

“Tuku”, as he is affectionately known, met the SA trumpeter in 1984. Prior to that, he had heard about Masekela but had not met him in person.

The two were brought together by fate. Tuku was playing at Jobs Nightclub in Harare when Masekela jumped on stage and began playing.

“Here I am, playing, and I see this man who jumps on stage and starts blowing his horn. He is not just blowing, he is good at it, said Mtukudzi.

“After the show, they told me that it was Hugh Masekela. I asked, ‘what, Hugh Masekela on my set?’”

He said from there they became close friends and also discovered that they were likeminded when it came to creating music.

“I did not struggle to be a friend with him. It was like we had known each other for years,” Mtukudzi said.

“The most powerful part of our friendship was not music, but it was the idea behind the music. We understood the purpose of a song.”

Mtukudzi said one of Masekela’s rare qualities was that he was not greedy and never kept information to himself.

“He would pass messages through humour. His humour was very educational. Now I have lost that humour.”