South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela’s long battle with prostate cancer ended on Tuesday in Johannesburg yesterday at the age of 78, his family announced, triggering an outpouring of tributes to his music, his long career, and his anti-apartheid activism. “After a protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer, he passed peacefully in Johannesburg, South Africa,” his family said in a statement. Some of his greatest hits include “Bring Him Back Home” a song demanding Mandela’s release from prison and “Grazing In The Grass”. Keeping up his international touring schedule into his 70s with energetic shows, his concerts at home often exploded into sing-alongs. A teenaged Masekela was handed his first trumpet — and later a Louis Armstrong hand-me-down — through anti-apartheid activist priest Father Trevor Huddlestone.

Source: The Guardian January 23, 2018 09:22 UTC