SACD Hugh Masekela – Hope

Three evenings with a wide musical horizon

Hope captures Hugh Masekela at Washington’s Blues Alley from July 30 to August 1, 1993. The album appeared in 1994. After decades in exile, Masekela had returned to South Africa. This concert programme brings memory, political history and the present life of an active band into the same setting.

Twelve tracks lead from “Abangoma” and “Uptownship” through “Mandela (Bring Him Back Home)” and “Grazin’ in the Grass” to “Stimela”. Different periods and musical connections form a single concert journey. The recording allows that larger shape to remain part of the experience.

Bakithi Kumalo within the ensemble

Bassist Bakithi Kumalo is also known for his work on Paul Simon’s Graceland. On Hope, he plays alongside guitarist Lawrence Matshiza, keyboardist Themba Mkhize, percussionist Remi Kabaka and drummer Damon Duewhite. Ngenekhaya Mahlanghu adds saxophone and flute. Their contributions offer several routes through the music.

Choose a familiar track and begin with bass and percussion. Then follow the way the horn phrases enter above them and leave space again. The ensemble becomes easier to hear as a group of active participants rather than a background behind the featured performer.

More than the famous final track

“Stimela (The Coal Train)” is the celebrated conclusion. Masekela’s account of workers carried by train towards the mines supplies its background. The route to that ending deserves attention too. The programme also includes Fela Kuti’s “Lady” and Themba Mkhize’s “Until When”.

Listen for the changes between spoken, sung and instrumental passages. Masekela’s trumpet and flugelhorn are part of those different means of expression. Their impact develops through the band and the course of the performance, rather than existing only in a single isolated climax.

Two layers with separate credits

CAPJ 82020 SA is a twelve-track hybrid stereo SACD. Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering is credited for the SACD layer, with DSD authoring by Gus Skinas at the Super Audio Center. The CD-layer credits name Gene Paul. The publisher’s SACD page does not specify a tape source. Its CD layer plays in a conventional CD player; the SACD layer requires SACD-compatible hardware. No multichannel programme is specified.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and dispatch from Hilden. Editions not currently in stock are dispatched after the goods arrive.

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Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.