Hugh Masekela

Hugh Ramapolo Masekela was born on 4 April 1939 in South Africa, where he would become known as "the father of South African jazz." He played trumpet, flugelhorn, and cornet, building a career that fused jazz composition with pointed political work. In 1968, right in the middle of apartheid's grip, he released "Grazing in the Grass" - an instrumental that climbed to number one on the US pop charts and was later covered by other artists. But his lasting mark came from songs like "Soweto Blues" and "Bring Him Back Home," which became anthems of the anti-apartheid movement. He died on 23 January 2018, having spent decades proving that a brass instrument could carry both melody and resistance.