{"id":39599,"date":"2020-04-03T10:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T09:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=39599"},"modified":"2021-04-08T14:37:34","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T13:37:34","slug":"tony-allen-hugh-masekela-rejoice-interview-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/tony-allen-hugh-masekela-rejoice-interview-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela, two giants reunited beyond death"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Tony Allen has completed the project he began ten years ago with his friend Hugh Masekela, who left us in 2018.\u00a0Following the release of this new album, Rejoice, PAM met the brilliant drummer in Paris. Interview.<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

He chose the shade and the seat, rather than the raised fist and centre stage. The beat rather than the spotlight. And yet his unique tempo took him on one of the greatest musical adventures of the last century, notably alongside Fela. Aged 80, legendary drummer\u00a0Tony Allen<\/a>\u00a0has rele<\/span>ased a new record, a collaboration with the immense South African trumpeter\u00a0Hugh Masekela<\/a>, who died i<\/span>n 2018. Allen has unearthed and reworked tapes recorded in London ten years ago that have never before been released. To bring to fruition what he started with Brother Hugh, he invited along a new generation of British jazz musicians, including Tom Herbert (Acoustic Ladyland), Joe Armon-Jones (Ezra Collective), Mutale Chashi (Kokoroko) and Steve Williamson. Between Lagos, Jo\u2019burg, and London things are sounding hot! \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Take care and listen to Rejoice! And find out what Tony Allen himself had to say in this interview he gave to PAM.<\/p>\n


\nWhen did you first meet Hugh Masekela?\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h6>\n

We met in the early 70s in Lagos. Hugh was great friends with Fela. He even recorded at EMI in Lagos with Hedzoleh Soundz, a Ghanaian group whom Fela had introduced him to. They were such good friends, always together, so we had the opportunity to play with him. And then we met again in 1977 for the famous FESTAC festival in Nigeria. At the time, he was living in exile in America \u2013 that’s where we met in person \u2013 but I\u2019d known his music since the 60s. He was a big name on the jazz scene!<\/p>\n

At the time Masekela was one of the best trumpeters in the world. We had often come across one another at festivals, and that’s how we decided to record this record, between two concerts in London in 2010. Whenever we saw each other, we would say we have to work on it again, but sadly he left us before that was possible\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n