Hugh Masekela winds back the years at Rotary Concert

Feb 27, 2017

Masekela played the flugelhorn, sang, danced, teased the audience and seemed to be having a great time at the concert held at the Serena Conference Centre.

The South African jazz legend turns 78 in a few weeks' time, but there was no sign of that at Sunday's Rotary fund-raising concert he held together with Uganda's Isaiah Katumwa.

Masekela played the flugelhorn, sang, danced, teased the audience and seemed to be having a great time at the concert held at the Serena Conference Centre.

  ugh asekela right and saiah atumwa performing at the otary undraising concert at the erena on unday night    Hugh Masekela (right) and Isaiah Katumwa performing at the Rotary Fundraising concert at the Serena on Sunday night. PHOTO BY KALUNGI KABUYE
 



Masekela started singing and playing the piano as a young boy, and took up the trumpet aged 14. All that experience was on show as he did not stop or take a break during the almost-two- hour show (Ugandan bands that annoyingly take a break after an hour into a live performance might take note).

But first up was Katumwa, who got his first real time on the big stage as a concert raiser to the South African in 2006.

 ugh asekela performing at the otary undraising concert at the erena on unday night    Hugh Masekela performing at the Rotary Fundraising concert at the Serena on Sunday night. PHOTO BY KALUNGI KABUYE
 

 

He has come a long way since then, and it showed. Unlike many other visiting acts which change the backing bands after local musicians, Katumwa and Masekela used the same stage and largely instrumentalists.

Katumwa was not a curtain raiser, as he stayed on stage and played and sang along with Masekela throughout the evening.

With entry at sh200, 000 per head, it was the most expensive show ever held in Kampala. But by 6:30pm it was a full house as most of the audience kept time.

There was no pre-event cocktail as usually happens at events like this, and the people went straight into the Victoria Hall and took their seats.

 embes of the otary lub of uyenga got into the groove at the concert    Membes of the Rotary Club of Muyenga got into the groove at the concert. PHOTO BY KALUNGI KABUYE

 


The concert was a fundraising for the new blood bank at Mengo Hospital, and to complete the new trauma Rotary Hospital in Mukono. It was also to celebrate 100 years of the Rotary Foundation, and 60 years since Rotary Uganda was founded. So it was fitting that the current President of Rotary International, John F. Germ, was present.

Also in attendance was the Rotary International President nominee, Sam Owori, and the Rotary District Governor for Uganda and Tanzania Jayesh Asher.

This is the third time Hugh Masekela has held a concert in Uganda, first in 2006, and in 2015. But it was obvious Ugandans have not got enough of him, and he promised to return. ​

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