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Hugh Masekela: ‘I don’t think I have the power to forgive’ The Guardian/The Observer David Smith Photograph by Sarah Lee Can a non-verbal instrument like a trumpet be political? No. I don’t think any musician ever thinks about making a statement. I think everybody goes into music loving it. I just came from South Africa, … Read more
“In Western culture, children go to ballet. There is Bach, Beethoven, who lived 500 years ago. Opera was invented 700 years ago. Yet these cultures are still retained. They were funded by the church and by royalty. Heritage has to be funded,” says the jazz legend.
“I get a little confused when artists say ‘my music,’ ” said Masekela in an interview from Los Angeles. “I don’t think anybody comes into the world with music. You find it here. I found it here.”
“I believe that it’s incumbent upon every human being to stand up against injustice,” says Masekela.
“I’m practising more than ever now,” he explains. “My playing is more advanced than when I was 30 or 40 years old, because then I was getting by on talent. My goal is no longer about just playing my instrument but playing it with ease.”
“Africa has been troubled for a long time — well, the world has been troubled ever since I was born,” Masekela says. “But I think in the last 20 years, the troubles in Africa have escalated to a point where I think it needs to heal. And I personally, I think, have settled down in my life, and I’ve relaxed and healed.”
