BRA HUGH’S FINAL NOTE
MUSIC legend Hugh Masekela lost his battle to prostate cancer yesterday in Johannesburg. Masekela, a trumpeter who was born Ramapolo Hugh Masekela in Witbank in 1939, would blaze the trail in African Jazz over the last five decades.
The jazz musical giant discovered his love for the arts as a child, when he began to play the piano. It is said the film Young Man and a Horn,a 1950 musical drama based on a novel by the same name on the life of jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, inspired Masekela to pick up the trumpet.
Masekela acquired one with the assistance of anti-apartheid activist and clergyman, Father Trevor Huddleston. Huddleston encouraged Masekela to play the instrument as well. Masekela mastered the instrument and ended up playing in the Huddleston Jazz Band, South Africa’s first jazz youth orchestra.
His collaborations have traversed the length and breadth of the African continent and the world and he collaborated with artists such as Fela Kuti, Abdullah Ibrahim, Jonas Gwangwa and Kippie Moeketsi. Masekela was also a part of the orchestra of SA’s first musical, King Kong, written by Todd Matshikiza.
Speaking to Tonight ahead of performing at Bra Hugh’s annual Hugh Masekela Heritage Festival last year, Zimbabwean legend Oliver Mtukudzi recalled: “It was a surprise to me when I realised that he knew me already when we first met. And the first thing he shouted when he saw me was Zwakanaka!! It was around 1982 or 1983 at Jobs Night Club in Harare – he jumped on stage and joined me with his trumpet. [...] He was always original and wouldn’t imitate anyone.”
In 1961, Masekela went into exile, where he met and befriended American jazz musician and icon Harry Belafonte. In 1968, he produced Still Grazing in the Grass – from where he borrowed the title of
his memoir, Still Grazing, which he penned with D Michael Cheers in 2004.
His music was often based on the commentary on life in South Africa, with a reflection of the struggles of South Africans and Africans in general. He also had an enigmatic stage presence and inspired both young and old. One of the young guns inspired by Bra Hugh was Riky Rick. A recent collaborator, he only has fond memories of Bra Hugh. Speaking to Tonight before performing at the 2017 Hugh Masekela Heritage Festival, the rapper said: “A year or two ago, we did a shoot for Woolworths where we were photographed with our families. He just pulled a R200 note out of his top pocket and gave it to my son. My son has never forgotten that. He often asks: ‘Where is grandpa?’ That’s something I’ll always remember.”
A statement from the Masekela family said that the icon passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family. He will be forever missed.