Hugh Masekela, the legendary trumpeter, composer, singer and anti-apartheid activist, lost his battle with prostate cancer for which he had been receiving treatment since 2008. “The father of South African jazz” as he had been dubbed, died on Tuesday, January 23 2018.
Hugh Masekela & the Union of South Africa is an inspired mix of soul, highlife, and even New Orleans jazz. This works excellently on the old-fashioned "Goin' Back to New Orleans" and the fast-moving "Ade" and "Dyambo" where horn lines, call-and-response singing, and funky guitars, together with African rhythms, create furious dance music. But some of the slower numbers seem to be left without direction, a fact that is only partly covered by Masekela's trumpet playing. The closing "Hush (Somebody's Calling My Name)," though, is a great exception to that, with simple basslines and chorus, and slow-building energy. But if the mix of cultural influences is the strength of Hugh Masekela & the Union of South Africa, it may also be the weakness of the album; the difference between the groove-based "Ade," jazzier numbers like "Caution," and African highlife songs like "Shebeen" and "Johannesburg Hi-Lite Jive" is so big you'd think they belong on separate albums, and they may not appeal to the same audience. Hugh Masekela & the Union of South Africa was originally released on Masekela's own label, Chisa, and was re-released in 1994 on Motown.
Tracklist:
| Goin' Back To New Orleans | 5:07 |
| Ade | 3:47 |
| To Get Ourselves Together | 2:55 |
| Johannesburg Hi-Lite Jive | 3:57 |
| Mamani | 5:20 |
| Shebeen | 4:00 |
| Dyambo | 3:48 |
| Caution! | 5:45 |
| Hush (Somebody's Calling My Name) | 3:32 |
Hugh Masekela & The Union Of South Africa - Same (1971)
(192 kbps, cover art included)
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