Prof Keorapetse Kgositsile speaks during a poetry evening sponsored by The Citizen held at the University of Johannesburg's library in their Auckland Park campus, 17 March 2015. Picture Neil McCartney
Earlier this week, jazz legend Hugh ‘Bra Hugh’ Masekela lost his battle to prostate cancer. That was just a few weeks after we lost another legend, poet laureate Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, who passed away on January 3.
Kgositsile died aged 79, and Masekela was 78.
The two are known for their work that challenged the oppressive system of apartheid, and shared a mutual admiration.
The trumpeter and the poet eked out a living while exiled in New York, in the US, in the 1960s, where they absorbed influences of the black diaspora, and in turn influenced their respective fields of jazz and poetry in the US and back at home.
In one of Bra Willie’s poem, his admiration for Bra Hugh shines through. Below is an excerpt from the poem, ‘For Hugh Masekela’.
‘Manboy of the ages
Mirror of my stupidity
And wisdom…
This then is the rhythm
And the blues of it
Home is where the music is’
A memorial service for Masekela took place on Friday afternoon at the Sankopano community centre in Alexandra, Johannesburg. The main memorial service will be held on January 28 at UJ Soweto Campus.
The late trumpeter’s family announced yesterday they would honour his wish to have a private funeral open to only close family members, friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry.
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