[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF JAZZ TRUMPETER HUGH MASEKELA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                             of tennessee-

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 30, 2018

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to note the passing of South 
African jazz trumpeter, composer and anti-apartheid activist Hugh 
Masekela, who died January 23 after a long fight with prostate cancer. 
Mr. Masekela, 78, was honored in October at the 26th annual National 
Civil Rights Museum Freedom Awards in Memphis although he was too sick 
to make the trip from Johannesburg and the award was accepted by his 
son, Salema Masekela, in his place.
  Masekela was an integral part of the African jazz scene in the 1950s 
and '60s with his band the Jazz Epistles. In response to South Africa's 
oppressive apartheid, which prevented large gatherings of black people 
from legally attending his bands' concerts, he went into exile in 1964, 
at the age of 21, first in Britain and then in the United States. In 
1968, he had an international No. 1 hit--``Grazing in the Grass.'' He 
was also known for ``Bring Him Back Home,'' an anthem calling for the 
release of the future South African President Nelson Mandela, 
imprisoned for 27 years for his anti-apartheid activities, and ``Soweto 
Blues.''
  Masekela collaborated with a variety of activists and entertainers 
including Harry Belafonte, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin and 
Paul Simon, with whom he toured on the ``Graceland'' album concerts 
with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He released more than 40 albums in his 
career and toured internationally until last year.
  ``My biggest obsession is to show Africans and the world who the 
people of Africa really are,'' he said on his official website.
  In 2012, he participated in UNESCO's International Jazz Day at the 
United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City with Richard Bona 
of Cameroon, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Danilo Perez, Derek Trucks and Susan 
Tedeschi, Jack DeJohnette, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Heath, Zakir Hussain 
of India, Angelique Kidjo of Benin, Lang Lang of China, Romero Lubambo 
of Brazil, Shankar Mahadevan of India, Wynton Marsalis, Christian 
McBride, Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Hiromi 
Uehara of Japan.
  Masekela returned to South Africa in 1990 when Mandela was freed and 
has been a vocal voice for freedom. I join fans and activists around 
the world in paying tribute to a giant of African culture and the arts.

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