Grazing in the Grass: The Best of Hugh Masekela
In 1968, a little-known South African-born trumpeter and flugelhornist named Hugh Masakela released an instrumental single called "Grazing in the Grass." Its catchy, percussive rhythms and jazzy horn lines made it an international hit, and turned Masakela into an overnight star. This compilation contains 14 of Masakela's most celebrated tracks recorded from the '60s to the '90s. These "greatest hits" show how Masakela ingeniously blends a fiery, post-bop trumpet style with African-American R&B; and African rhythms, and long before the term "world music" came into vogue. Included on this collection is the Cuban cha-cha laced "Vasco Da Gama," the melancholy Miriam Makeba classic, "Strawberries," and the anti-apartheid anthem, "Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)." Hugh Masakela has been, and will continue to be, an importance force in the world of music.--Eugene Holley Jr.