Marketplace hugh masekela biography

PLAYING AT WORK – MY TIME WITH HUGH MASEKELA  

BY BRETT RUBIN

Sometime back in 2012, I recall seeing Josh Georgiou in a Johannesburg coffee shop, looking excited holding a copy of the inaugural issue of the South African edition of Rolling Stone magazine adorned with a fierce-looking Bra Hugh on the cover.

Josh, who was renowned in the local music industry circles and had by
that point in time had been working closely with Hugh Masekela for a few years
already, greeted me and asked for my thoughts on the cover.

Immediately, and almost somewhat instinctively, I responded ‘the cover
looks great, but I think I could take a more honest portrait of him’.

It’s never been in my character to be so opportunistic when it comes to photography, however, this was Hugh Masekela, and I had been hoping to take his portrait for some time, so when the opportunity presented itself I didn’t flinch.

Josh responded, somewhat taken aback, by offering me an opportunity to do a portrait shoot of Hugh the following month, as he was set to embark on a new international tour and could use some new publicity images.

On the day of the shoot, I was so nervous about selecting what music to include on my playlist. I safely opted for jazz standards by the likes of Miles, Coltrane, Monk, Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, et al.

And I could see Hugh found this amusing and made a couple of jokes about
it too – like asking me what the name of the song was when ‘Round Midnight’
came on. 

I decided to set up a makeshift studio outdoors to work with the soft natural light that Johannesburg in Autumn offers up and produced a beautiful selection of portraits.

Later on that day I photographed Hugh in front of a sculptural mural made by the great South African artist Cecil Skotnes. When Hugh enquired about who the artist was, he remarked: “That makes sense, he used to drive into the townships, during Apar

It is also important to know that Masekela together with Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand), Cyphus Semenga Mariam Makeba and Latta Mbulu are the pioneers of South African Jazz and were very instrumental in introducing African Jazz to the western world.  

It was in the early seventies when I met Hugh. It all happened through Minkailu Janneh (Minks) who was a friend to Hugh. Minks, at the time was a student in Boston, Massachusetts and would later move to New York to finish his studies at Columbia University where I was also a student. Among our group were other friends like Sharif Samsu Shariff  Sallah , my late brother Adi Njai, Saihou Njai (Artist)  our sister Jabou Joh and Momodou Ceesay (kayorr). We all came to know Hughie as he was fondly called through his music and his activism in the anti-apartheid struggle. During this period, we visited jazz clubs in the New York and Boston area and attended anti-apartheid rallies where oftentimes Hugh will perform. We started listening to jazz more with special affinity for Masekela’s music. We were inspired by songs such as, GOLD, MACE & GRENADE, CHILD OF THE EARTH, IN THE MARKETPLACE, BAJA BULA BUNKE, STIMELA and many others. The songs GOLD and MACE & GRENADE are from his early recordings and were expressions of the hardships and struggles of the black population in South Africa during the days of apartheid.

Hugh Masekela has worked and collaborated with musicians from the entire spectrum of the music fraternity and it was this approach which led to his collaboration with Fela Kuti and through Fela, he met and worked with a group of young Ghanian musicians called HEDZOLEH SOUNDZ. His album with this band is called Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz”. This album is one of my favorite albums. At a concert in Boston introducing the band, we were thrilled by Masekela when he would at times leave the stage and come close to

Hugh Ramopolo Masekela was born on 4 April 1939 in Witbank, near Johannesburg. Masekela showed musical ability from a young age, and began to play piano as a child. Inspired by the movie Young Man with a Horn, Masekela began to play the trumpet, encouraged by anti-apartheid activist Father Trevor Huddleston, who helped him acquire the instrument.

At Huddleston’s request, Masekela then received tuition in trumpet playing from Uncle Sauda, who played for the Johannesburg ‘Native’ Municipal Brass Band. Masekela soon mastered the trumpet, and began to play with other aspiring musicians in the Huddleston Jazz Band – South Africa’s first youth orchestra.

In his early days as a teenager on the South African music scene, Masekela played with artists such as Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim), Jonas Gwangwa and Kippie Moeketsi. Masekela also collaborated with famous icons like Miriam Makeba, Zimbabwean Dorothy Masuka, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Hedzoleh Soundz, Francis Fuster and Dudu Pukwana.

Masekela also formed an integral part of the orchestra for the South African Broadway-style musical King Kong, which was written by Todd Matshikiza. This took place after Masekela toured with the jazz band the Manhattan Brothers in 1958, and was even featured on London’s West End for two years. This successful musical featured many of the above-mentioned artists.

Masekela was deeply affected by his life experiences, and therefore made music that reflected his experiences in the harsh political climate of South Africa during the 1950s and 1960s. Masekela’s music therefore portrays the struggles and joys of living in South Africa, and voiced protest against slavery and discrimination.

After the Sharpeville Massacre, Masekela was assisted by Huddleston and other international friends to study in America. Therefore, in 1961, Masekela went into exile. Masekela went to study at the London Guildhall School of Music, and later the Manhattan School of Music, where he befriended