Masekela, Hugh (1939– )

South African trumpet player. Exiled from his homeland 1960–90, he travelled to the UK and then settled in the USA. He has recorded jazz, rock, and mbaqanga (township jive). In 1968 he had a number-one hit ‘Grazing in the Grass’. His albums include Techno-Bush (1984). An active opponent of apartheid, he left South Africa with his wife, singer Miriam Makeba.

During the 1980s, he returned to South Africa. He visited Zimbabwe and Botswana, recorded two albums with The Kalahari Band, and then performed with Paul Simon on his 1987 Graceland tour. His 1987 hit ‘Bring Him Back Home’ became the anthem for Nelson Mandela's world tour following his release from prison in 1992. In the mid-1990s, Masekela began releasing a stream of albums and collections that showed his versatility and growth in South African jazz.