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Hugh MasekelaHugh Masekela started playing the trumpet in 1954. As the pressure from apartheid in South Africa increased, Hugh was offered an opportunity to study abroad at the London Guildhall of Music. Miriam Makeba, who had already moved to the States, helped him, enlisting the aid of Harry Belafonte, Dizzy Gillepsie and John Mehegan, to get into the Manhattan school of Music in New York. He enjoyed international fame. Hugh Masekela returned to South Africa in 1990. Hugh has overcome immense adversity on a political and personal level. One of my favorite Hugh Masekela songs is called 'Stimela' (coal train). This song both beautiful and sad, speaks about the journey of young men who travel far from their homes in search of work. It starts like this: "There’s a train that comes from Namibia and Mozambique, from Swaziland and Lesotho. It brings old and young African men to work on conscription in the gold mines of Johannesburg, sixteen hours a day for almost no pay." Click below to enjoy 'Stimela', by Hugh Masekela.
Recent Achievements: SAMA Awards 2003 Winner of the Best Male Artist and Best producer for the album “Time”. BBC Jazz Awards 2002 - Winner of the International Jazz Artist Of The Year. Kora Music Awards 2002 - Winner of the Best Artist Of The Year. African Challenge Awards 2002 - Awarded by United Nations Secretary General - Kofi Annan to Hugh Masekela, Danny Glover and Susan Taylor.
What we always have to remember is that the source of our success is the people we come from. We can’t forget where we came from. Again, I have to bring up Louis Armstrong. So you have to pay back, because when you are born, you are born naked. You don’t come here with anything. My grandmother always reminded me that when I was born, I didn’t bring any money, I didn’t have anywhere to sleep, and it took me three years to show me where the bathroom was. They taught me how to talk. They taught me how to think. They taught me how to walk. I lived rent-free, and they clothed me and gave me food for seventeen years. I would never be able to repay them, but at least, I must always acknowledge that when I came into this world, I didn’t know shit, and that if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t know anything. If you live by that motto, I think that you are not only able to pay back, but it sort of helps to center you. You have to remember that. You didn’t make it by yourself. I think that was the greatest inspiration for me, because I don’t think I would be what I am if I didn’t come from South Africa. I owe an endless debt to the people of South Africa and all those other African communities all over the world that I have accessed, and lived with and learned their music. Because we’re all born naked. We don’t come here with anything. —Hugh Masekela Currently touring the US * Dates and Venue are subject to change, July 13, New York, Rockin' The River Cruise,Sat July 14, Washington, DC, Zanzibar on the Waterfront Mon, July 16, Halifax, NS - Canada, Atlantic Jazz Festival Tues, July 17, Montreal, Quebec, Nuits d' Afrique Festival Fri, July 20, Detroit, MI, Concert of Colors Festival Sat, July 21, Trumansburg, NY, Finger Lakes Grass Roots Festival Tues, July 24 Cleveland, OH, Night Town Jazz Club Wed, July 25, Minneapolis, MN, Dakota Jazz Club Thurs, July 26 Aspen, CA, Belly Up Sat/Sun, July 28, 29, Mission, BC - Canada, Mission Folk Music Festival Tues, July 31, Seattle, WA, The Triple Door Wed, Aug 1, Portland, OR, Concerts at the Oregon Zoo Thur, Aug 2, Los Angeles, CA, Skirball Center Fri, Aug 3, Winston, OR, Riverbend Live Concert Series Sun, Aug 5, San Francisco, CA, Stern Grove Festival Wed, Aug 29, New York, NY, Private Function Fri, Aug 31, Lennox, MA, Tanglewood Festival Sat, Sept 1, Arlington, VA, Planet Arlington Festival Sun, Sept 2, Chicago, IL, African Festival of the Arts To read more of his story or to book him for a performance, click here! Return fromHugh Masekela to Kalavati Homepage
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