South African jazz great Hugh Masekela celebrated his 75th birthday on Friday with the help of friends Paul Simon, Harry Belafonte and Sibongile Khumalo, who joined him on stage during a concert at the Lincoln Centre in New York.
[full]To mark the milestone, Masekela has released a music video to accompany his latest single, a township mbaqanga cover of the Bob Dylan classic, It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, taken from his album Playing at Work.
The video is dedicated to Masekela’s lifelong friend, photographer Alf Kumalo, who died suddenly in 2012. It features never-before-seen footage of the famous lensman.
The video was directed by Brett Rubin, who worked with art director Nicole van Heerden, editor Tom Glenn and cinematographer Robert Wilson. Wilson shot the last footage of Kumalo just before he died.
”We’d filmed Alf for a documentary commissioned by SA Breweries. The footage was perfect for the tribute that Hugh wanted,” said Wilson.
”Initially Bra Hugh saw his interpretation of the song as a township love story, but when we suggested that it could be a homage to his friend, he loved the idea.
“He saw the video last week and called it the best video ever made for one of his songs,” said Rubin.
As well as moving images of the photographer walking through Alexandra, northern Joburg, interspersed with Masekela’s soulful vocals and trumpet, the video features a montage of some of Kumalo’s most iconic pictures, which span the past 50 years of South African history.
Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Oliver Tambo, Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko, Ruth First, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Trevor Huddleston, Miriam Makeba and Muhammad Ali are all featured in the video, the first in a series from Masekela’s latest album.
Source – Timeslive[/full]