Customer Reviews

Live at the Market Theatre (2CD SET)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I heard Hugh Masekela at the Portland (OR) Zoo this past summer. I didn't know at the time that a live album was en route but later bought it the day it was released. The album captures the show, without mirroring it, and shows what a remarkable musician and social conscious this man is. After 20 or so listenings, I still cannot put it on without dancing in my computer chair while I try to work. The band's energy is in the red zone throughout, and the call and response, the crowd interaction and sing-alongs, the patter -- all integrate into and with the music rather than being an annoyance as is so often the case with live albums. A great pleasure all around and on every track. At 62, I'm old enough to remember when Grazing in the Grass was originally released. Although it immediately become a top 10 hit, I was never particularly fond of it. The contemporary live version included here overcomes my longstanding antipathy.

Hugh just gets better and better. I had the experience of going to one of his concerts, some 15 years ago, him and Miriam Makeba.
I wish he had come to my city with this new tour. Since he didn't, the record will have to suffice, and it does. This wonderful musician, as well as civil rights activist, has done so much for African Music, Jazz music, as well as music, period. In this concert, he surrounded himself with seasoned musicians, on top of their game. I would have given them six stars, if they were available.

Beautiful live album with a sparkling Masekela and terrific performers. The music of Hugh bring the listener in the heart of Africa; the recording is very high to rate and let us catch the breath of music. Excellent product!

Love this guy. He's so talented. Never seen him live but I guess this is almost as good (maybe) ;)

Hugh Masekela never sounded better. He rocks from beginning to end and the audience is obviously caught up in the music. A must CD for Hugh Masekela fans.

Live at the Market Theatre is a two-disc music CD album featuring Hugh Masekela, a musician whose creations defy genre classification. Born in South Africa, Masekela spent years in exile from his nation's apartheid-era oppression, returning 17 years ago to help his countrymen and his homeland rebuild. Live at the Market Theatre embodies Masekela's efforts to bolster South African identity and Pan-African nation building. Songs incorporate jazz, Nigerian rhythms, and Afro-Beat. The tracks are Ibala Lam, The Boy's Doin' It, Ashiko, Ha Le Se, Stimela, Lady, Grazing in the Grass, Mandela, Thuma Mina, Up Township, Happy Mama, District Six, Market Place, Khauleza, and Thanayi. Enthusiastically recommended for library music CD collections and international music shelves.