Bra Hugh's last stand was for the future of SA music
Not long before his death, jazz great Hugh Masekela held an audience enthralled with stories of his life - and a plan for an exciting new project
Four months before he would succumb to death, Hugh Masekela gave no sign that he was a man about to shuffle off this mortal coil. He moved like a man bent on defying time and age, determined to make his next meaningful contribution to music and our heritage in general. Even as he moved towards the end of his days, Bra Hugh kept elegantly clawing at uncovering one more spark of creative genius.
In August last year, on the eve of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival, I had the rare joy of presiding over an exclusive dinner and conversation to launch what was conceived to be a transgenerational, cross-genre collaboration between Bra Hugh and rapper Riky Rick.
Because it was organised by Standard Bank, the event gathered some high-level staffers, along with key members of the media and an assortment of socialites and musicians. We were all gathered to kick off the celebrations marking two decades of the jazz festival...
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