The Boy's Doin' It – a celebration of the life and music of Hugh Masekela

For 78 years, South Africa was blessed with a phenomenal visionary who impacted African jazz with a unique brass tone and storytelling style. World-renowned trumpet and horn player, bandleader and defiant political voice, Hugh Masekela was renowned for international hits like ’Grazing in the Grass’, ’Stimela’ and ’Bring Him Back Home’, as well as his work on Paul Simon’s Graceland.

Hugh was a long-time friend of the EFG London Jazz Festival: together with the Masekela family, we have put together a complete evening to celebrate his life, featuring Hugh Masekela’s full band of musicians, a top-class brass section and a stellar cast of guest vocalists, all paying their love and respect to the great Bra Hugh.

Expect evergreens from the Masekela songbook – township anthems that carry the weight of the nation’s history but live on to inspire and convey the abundant joy of rootsy Afro fusion. Sibongile Khumalo met Hugh upon his return from exile in 1990 and he encouraged her to develop her own unique vocal style, while the great Zimbabwean singer Oliver Mtukudzi and Bra Hugh shared a deep love for their African roots and heritage. Complete are a fantastic young South African vocal ensemble who were supported by Hugh Masekela’s passion and enthusiasm for their music.

This concert will premiere in Johannesburg on Saturday November 10, and then comes to London a week later for this special performance