South African trumpeter and vocalist, Jazz great Hugh Masekela celebrates 75th birthday...... with a little help from some old friends -- Paul Simon and Harry Belafonte -- in the city where he began what turned out to be a 30-year exile from his homeland.

Saturday, April 05, 2014 | 9:43 PM    
NEW YORK (AP) -- South African trumpeter and vocalist Hugh Masekela celebrated his 75th birthday with a little help from some old friends -- Paul Simon and Harry Belafonte -- in the city where he began what turned out to be a 30-year exile from his homeland.

Hugh 'Grazin in the Grass Masekela
Introducing Simon near the end of Friday night's concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theatre, Masekela noted that millions of people "who had never heard of South Africa before were just charmed and turned around by the album he made" in 1986 – ‘Graceland’, which won Grammys for Album and Record of the Year.
Masekela did not perform on the singer-songwriter's groundbreaking world music album much of which was recorded in South Africa when he was still exiled because of his attacks on the apartheid regime. But he and his former wife, singer Miriam Makeba, joined Simon on his ‘Graceland’ world tour which gave South African musicians global exposure.
Masekela and Simon then sang two of the album's biggest hits – ‘The Boy In the Bubble’ and ‘You Can Call Me Al’ -- backed by his quintet of young musicians, all but one of them from South Africa.
Earlier, singer Sibongile Khumalo earned a standing ovation as she joined Masekela for one number, displaying the multi-octave range and powerful voice that has earned her the reputation as South Africa's ‘First Lady of Song’.
Masekela's son, Sal, opened the concert by noting that his father has been "sharing the gift and the joy of music to people all around the world for the last five decades. For some reason, he does not get old."
Masekela, who turned 75 on Friday, proved that by performing for more than two hours -- playing fluegelhorn, singing, engaging in call-and-response patterns with the audience, and even throwing in a few dance moves. more

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