Hugh Masekela, the legendary South African jazz musician and anti-apartheid activist, has died after a decade-long fight with cancer. He was 78. Often called the "Father of South African jazz," Masekela died in Johannesburg after what his family said Tuesday was a "protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer." Masekela was a rare artist who succeeded in fusing politics with his music, making his songs and performances compelling and timeless. Trumpeter, singer and composer Masekela, affectionately known locally as "Bra Hugh," started playing the horn at 14. He quickly became an integral part of the 1950s jazz scene in Johannesburg as a member of the band the Jazz Epistles and a member of the orchestra in the groundbreaking jazz opera "King Kong." In the 1960s he went into exile in the United Kingdom and the United States, using his music to spread awareness about South Africa's oppressive system of whiteminority rule. He scored an international No. 1 hit in 1968 with "Grazing In The Grass." Masekela spent time in both New York and Los Angeles, performing at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival with some of the era's most iconic musicians, including Janis Joplin, Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix. He collaborated with many musicians including Herb Alpert and was married to South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba for two years. In the 1980s, Masekela appeared with Paul Simon and several other South African musicians as part of the "Graceland" album tour. Masekela returned to South Africa in 1990 after Mandela was freed and the African National Congress party was unbanned. He released more than 40 albums, and toured in South Africa and internationally until late last year. Masekela supported many charities and was a director of the Lunchbox Fund, a nonprofit organization to provide daily meals to students in Soweto township. Condolences from fans poured out Tuesday on social media paying tribute to the influential musician's career. "A baobob tree has fallen," Nathi Mthethwa, South Africa's minister for arts and culture, wrote on Twitter. "The nation has lost a one of a kind musician. We can safely say Bra Hugh was one of the great architects of Afro-Jazz and he uplifted the soul of our nation through his timeless music." South African President Jacob Zuma expressed his condolences, saying Masekela "kept the torch of freedom alive globally, fighting apartheid through his music and mobilizing international support ... His contribution to the struggle for liberation will never be forgotten." U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "recognizes the historical role that he played during the fight against apartheid and the fight for freedom and human rights after the fall of apartheid," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. "He was a global cultural icon that will be missed by people all over the world." Story via Associated Press
Rate this article: