With support from Zara McFarlane
10 March 2012 / 19:30Barbican Hall
Tickets: £10 - 27.50
Hugh Masekela has come to be known as a living legend in the half-century since he first picked up a trumpet, and luckily for us he shows no sign of putting it down yet.
His voice has long spoken out in his country’s struggle for civil rights, whilst his soaring, joyful trumpet sound brims with warmth and bristles with elements of township jazz, hip-hop and funk. Universally considered one of the world’s all-time greatest horn players, he remains, in the words of the Independent: 'a musician of phenomenal grace and power...still blessed with a voice that can strip the leaves from the trees.'
Tonight he brings his brilliant young band back to the UK for the first time since his sell-out show at the London Jazz Festival 2010, in partnership with the Commonwealth Foundation.
'Hugh Masekela creates an instant party, leading from vocals and flugelhorn like a South African Louis Armstrong.' The Guardian
Zara McFarlane is a rising star on the British scene. Of Jamaican heritage, her vocals are steeped in jazz with an undercurrent of rich, contemporary soul. Her debut album, Until Tomorrow, has just been released by Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings.
Celebrating the start of Commonwealth Week, tonight’s artists offer a glimpse of the rich culture and creativity the modern Commonwealth has to offer.
The Commonwealth unites 54 countries with diverse cultures around shared values and vision. Join us in 2012 as we celebrate our Commonwealth, a global community of over two billion people of differing beliefs and traditions, with cultural expression a vibrant means of identity and exchange. Find out more at http://www.commonwealththeme.org
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