Trumpeter and singer Hugh Masekela, known as the “father of South African jazz” who used his music in the fight against apartheid, has died from prostate cancer, his family said on Tuesday. He was 78. In a career spanning more than five decades, Masekela gained international recognition with his distinctive Afro-jazz sound and hits such as Soweto Blues, which served as one of the soundtracks to the anti-apartheid movement. He opened the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup Kick-Off Concert and performed at the event’s opening ceremony in Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium. “Hugh’s global and activist contribution to and participation in the areas of music, theatre, and the arts in general is contained in the minds and memory of millions,” a statement on behalf of the Masekela family said. “Rest in power beloved, you are forever in our hearts.” His song Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela), written while Masekela was in living in exile, called for the release of the-then imprisoned Mandela and...
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