Hugh Masekela — Estival Jazz Lugano, 2009

Filmed live concert by Hugh Masekela at Estival Jazz in Lugano, on the Piazza della Riforma, in 2009. A South African trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer, a major figure of African jazz and of the anti-apartheid struggle, Masekela delivers here a full concert of about ninety minutes with his sextet, between afro-jazz grooves, mbaqanga and militant fervor. Backed notably by Tendai Paliani on guitar, Randal Skippers on keyboards, Abednigo Zulu on bass, Lee-Roy Sauls on drums and Francis Fuster on percussion, he unfolds funky, danceable numbers carried by his warm flugelhorn and voice. The set includes his emblematic Stimela (The Coal Train), a harrowing epic about southern Africa’s migrant miners, as well as his worldwide hit Grazing in the Grass. This open-air capture, before a won-over summer crowd, documents the stage generosity of a legendary artist late in his career. An essential jazz live concert to discover the fusion of South African traditions and improvisation, filmed in the prestigious setting of one of Europe’s oldest free jazz festivals.