Time

Hugh Masakela, Hugh Masekela | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: COLUMBIA
• ASIN: B00006SM7X
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,082 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #86 in Music > World Music > Africa > South Africa

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcendent Township, January 16, 2003

By 

Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Time (Audio CD)

You can hear centuries of struggle being neutralized in the joyous celebration of dance overcoming oppression in Hugh Masekela's remarkable music. Here is a man who never wavered in his outspoken condemnation of Apartheid, even though for many years it was dangerous for him to do so. Here is a man who has experienced living and laboring under the most difficult personal and musical circumstances who nevertheless operates in the most rarified precincts of felicity. Here is a man who has know international fame as well periods of great difficulty and who has now emerged as a kind of elder statesman for that most glorious of musics, Township pop/jazz.

When I, a white America, listen to this transcendent music, I am transported to the heart of black South Africa, a place where the depredations of colonialism still manifest deep scars both personal and societal, but also a place where exuberance trumps oppression, hope wins out over despair, and the indomitability of the human spirit shines forth perhaps more purely than anywhere else in the entire world.

Paying homage to past masters like Elijah Nkwanyane, Dudu Pukwana, and Miriam Makeba, this whole project is suffused with the pure magic that comes from one who is firmly connected to the past yet is entirely in touch with the present. Though he must be in his seventies, Masekela has lost none of his prowess on flugelhorn, his chosen instrument. He sings with a great deal of authority as well, his voice somewhat gruff and gravelly, but entirely appropriate for the sentiments he wishes to convey. Top it all off with infectious arrangements and a supremely swinging brass section and you have music to die for. Not to be missed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not JUST Paul Simon's trumpet player!, July 18, 2006

By 

N. Gray "Alright! Who siphoned the blood out ... (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Time (Audio CD)

Well, I first heard of Hugh whilst watching a really dodgy recording of a Paul Simon concert. One minute, Paul Simon was singing away, sounding fine... the next minute, I could hear the rawest, most passionate voice I have ever heard fill the room!

On closer inspection, it was Hugh Masekala. For ages, that was all I could find of Hugh; trumpet for P.S and the odd solo piece in his band. Then I stumbled on this album!

From the very first track, you are presented with the passion that Hugh has for music, and the human condition! This man has a real heart for people, and it comes across in his music with a weightiness that cannot be ignored or deemed cliche.

Hugh manages to capture experience and emotion, and somehow puts it on CD. Most musicians will manage this for a track... maybe two or three; Hugh, however, packs a punch on every note!

This CD is a journey. Some of it is fun to listen to, whilst some of it is close to home. Whether or not you relate to Hugh's social mindedness, this CD will affect you. This man has a gift that should not be ignored!

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of character, April 26, 2007

By 

John M. Gardner "jxgardner" (davis, ca United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Time (Audio CD)

I happened upon this album..the more i listen the more i like it. The raspy voice is memorable along the his excellent horn. Good compositions, interesting topics, solid rhythyms....a hidden gem in the jazz world..