Hugh Masekela to play Caleb Auditorium, Miami

[Lois Gilbert]

African jazz great to play Caleb auditorium
South Africa's famed jazz trumpeter and human rights activist Hugh Masekela will perform in concert at the Joseph Caleb Center.

Legendary jazz great Hugh Masekela will kick off the 2006 Africa Reconnect Program on Friday at the Joseph Caleb Auditorium in Liberty City.

Miami-Dade Parks' Division of Arts and Culture will present the South African music icon in its Heart of the City Cultural Arts Series.

Born near Johannesburg in 1939, Masekela made a remarkable journey from apartheid South Africa to the music scene in New York, where he struck gold with his instrumental pop hit Grazing in the Grass.

He is best known to American audiences through his participation in Paul Simon's Graceland tour to promote the album of the same name and for co-writing the score for the musical Sarafina!

Considered the father of African jazz and South Africa's music ambassador to the world, Masekela has used his trumpet as an instrument of resistance, a call to freedom, and a celebration of the resilience of his people. His powerful blend of jazz, funk and Afro-beat has mourned the tragedy of apartheid and rejoiced at its collapse.

More than just a musician in South Africa, he was also one of the leading crusaders against apartheid. Collaborations with South African singer Miriam Makeba and his groundbreaking early albums helped to bring traditional South African music to the mainstream jazz audience and to shine a spotlight on the plight of his people.

Due to his vocal protest against apartheid, Masekela was forced into exile for years. During that time, he opened a music school in nearby Botswana, until South African Defense Squads raided the area and killed many of his friends. At that point, he realized he could not be protected if he remained in Africa and he moved to England, where he co-wrote the score for Sarafina!, the 1988 musical that explores the spirit that drove young black South Africans in their struggle for freedom.