From "Young
Man with a Horn" to jazz legend
Inspired at the age of 13 by the 1950 film, "Young Man with
a Horn," Hugh Masekela has gone on to become a renowned world fusion
and World Beat artist with over 30 records since 1962. Masekela began playing
trumpet at age 13, although he says his love of music began much earlier.
He received his first trumpet as a gift from the headmaster of the boarding
school he attended. In 1961 he left South Africa, assisted by the likes
of Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, John Dankworth and Harry Belafonte.
It was during the early 1960's that his career began to really explode,
fueled by his mixture of jazz with African sounds. The song "Grazing in
the Grass" topped the charts in 1968 and eventually sold four million copies
worldwide. That year Masekela sold out arenas nationwide during his US tour,
among them Carnegie Hall. |
