Featured In
ALBUMSiparia To SowetoHugh Masekela & Siparia Deltones
Albums by Hugh Masekela
ALBUMSiparia To SowetoHugh Masekela & Siparia Deltones
ALBUMRejoice (Special Edition)Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela
ALBUMNo BordersHugh Masekela
ALBUMPlaying at Work (Re-Worked)Hugh Masekela
ALBUMPlaying @ WorkHugh Masekela
ALBUMWe Are OneBlack Coffee & Hugh Masekela
ALBUMJabulaniHugh Masekela
ALBUMPholaHugh Masekela
ALBUMAlmost Like Being In JazzHugh Masekela
ALBUMRevivalHugh Masekela
Hugh Masekela's Popular Music Videos
In the City (feat. Hugh Masekela)
Ralf GUM
Johannesburg Hi-Lite Jive (Live at Standard Bank Arena; Johannesburg, South Africa: May 25, 1991)
Hugh Masekela
District Six (Live at Standard Bank Arena; Johannesburg, South Africa: May 25, 1991)
Hugh Masekela
Lahl'umlenze (Live at Standard Bank Arena; Johannesburg, South Africa: May 25, 1991)
Hugh Masekela
Dobbshire / Excuse Me Baby Please (Live at Standard Bank Arena; Johannesburg, South Africa: May 25, 1991)
Hugh Masekela
Ha Lese Le Di Khanna (Live at Standard Bank Arena; Johannesburg, South Africa: May 25, 1991)
Hugh Masekela
We've Landed (Radio Edit)
Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela
Ndikhumbula 'Ikhaya Lam (Live at Standard Bank Arena; Johannesburg, South Africa: May 25, 1991)
Hugh Masekela
Stimela (Live at Standard Bank Arena; Johannesburg, South Africa: May 25, 1991)
Hugh Masekela
Stimela Sase Zola (Live at Standard Bank Arena; Johannesburg, South Africa: May 25, 1991)
Hugh Masekela
Artist Playlists
Hugh Masekela Essentials
The jazz trumpeter's fusion reflected his inclusive worldview.
Hugh Masekela: Deep Cuts
Affably jabbing licks and gospel-flavored Soweto street sounds.
Artist Biography
A towering figure in South African music, trumpeter Hugh Masekela remains the king of South African jazz even years after his death. Born in KwaGuqa in 1939, Masekela performed in the first youth orchestra ever established in his homeland and started leading his own bands while still in his teens. He was soon working with Alfred Herbert’s African Jazz Revue, the Manhattan Brothers, and others. In 1959, his short-lived band The Jazz Epistles (which also included famed pianist Dollar Brand) became the first South African jazz group to release an album. The following year, as apartheid conditions worsened, Masekela relocated to America, studying at the Manhattan School of Music. He released his debut album, Trumpet Africaine, in 1962, introducing a unique mixture of jazz, South African roots, pop, and R&B. Over the years, Masekela would address apartheid and other issues in his work, but his music was also characterized by a joyous feel, most clearly present on his funky 1968 smash “Grazing In The Grass,” a No. 1 hit in America. Masekela’s work would evolve over time, touching on soul, techno-funk, and more; and he would collaborate with the likes of Paul Simon, Herb Alpert, Afrobeat hero Tony Allen, and others. Masekela passed away in 2018 at 78, but the social and musical changes he helped bring about will last forever.
Hometown
Witbank, South Africa
Genre
Jazz