Hugh Masekela

Feature by Hortense Fuller of AfricaSounds

On Thursday, April 26^th, South African Jazz great Hugh Masekela returned to New York for two nights of live performance at SOBs Nightclub. It was a high-energy, fantastic event that caught Masekela in very good form and his veteran band supplied a solid and up-tempo background. AfricaSounds always attempts to attend Masekela’s shows when he comes to town, and this one included both new numbers and the necessary classic hits. Masekela’s traveling band for this tour was somewhat more compact, featuring five musicians in total. With no additional brass other than Masekela, the music and vibes depended upon the lead guitarist and keyboardist, who were allowed ample room for improvisation although at points there was an excessive slickness.

The set began with an entirely vocal rendition, in which Masekela invited not only his group but also the audience to join in. Being at a dinner show, we were pleasantly surprised to see the crowd quite animated and noticeably moving within their seats. As is his charm, Masekela was able to get everyone up and dancing by the set’s end.

Masekela in front of the Empire State Building from the "Uptownship" Album

A highlights of the set was "Sonny Boy," a light afro-beat that had an autobiographical theme to it. In the song and spoken intro, Masekela referenced his decision during his youth to become a musician, and the heated response that it caused within his large family. Luckily for him and us, as we were told, both father and mother decided during that discussion to let Maskela give "music and the bugle" a try, and the rest was history. It is during these improvisational songs, where the power of Masekela’s music making really kicks in. With a swoop his gravelly voice and spirit overtook the entire audience and the room visibly warmed to him, similar as one would imagine to an expert storyteller or a community elder. Observing the audience, we were fascinated to see the crowd completely absorbed in this small bit of history, a journey within Masekela’s early life and his choice to embrace the hard job of a musician.

The afro-beat got even harder and funkier with the next number, "Lady," a cover of Fela and Masekela’s favorite tribute to the artist. Once some initial sound mixing issues got resolved, the bass and percussion were able to kick in and really take this number to new heights. Notable was the bands’ ability to alternate between very soft and subtle movements within the song to the all-out funk jams that they’d leash into every couple of minutes. Maskela and group had the crowd loving every minute of this tribute.

Two numbers that are no surprise, but always a highlight of a Masekela concert, were "Stimela" and "Grazin in the Grass." While the second is familiar to most due to its immense radio popularity decades ago, the first, "Stimela," or "the train song" as we fondly call it, never ceases to send goose bumps down my neck and back when it is played live. Unlike his early 90’s tours when a saxophone was part of the entourage, the opening solo after the long spoken introduction and cowbell and train-whistle crescendo, the guitarist was utilized to lend a blues to the opening instrumentations. The solo was graceful but somewhat sad and longing, an ode of respect to all those who have lost their lives or loved ones in the coal mine. Masekela’s terrific fugal horn solo continued where the guitarist left off, lending an ounce of hope into the musical mix. The song escalated until all members of the band were playing and singing to a union effect that had the nightclub audience once again mesmerized. It was one of the better moments that I have caught by Masekela, after having seen him at over eight concert appearances in the last decade. It was a special night.

Hugh Masekela's classic "Reconstruction" album

Although the MC seemed to want to clear out the dinner crowd after the awesome "Stimela," Masekela would have none of that, and energetically motioned with his arms into the mic that the first set "would continue to go on." The encore, "Nelson Mandela," came after yet another heartfelt speech in which Masekela reminded the crowd that ten years ago Mandela was finally freed from prison. The speech brought back special memories as it was seven years ago from this day that we had first caught Masekela at SOBs, the night before Mandela was to be chosen to run his country. At that point seven years ago, a triumphant Masekela had almost tearfully proclaimed this reality. That was a fond memory that we were able to relive this evening with Hugh Masekela in attendance once again on this special date.