AFRICAN Jazz icon and grandfather, Hugh Masekela , jets into Uganda in September for a noble cause, to jazz-up a fundraising concert for disabled children.
By Steven Candia
AFRICAN Jazz icon and grandfather, Hugh Masekela , jets into the country in September for a noble cause, to jazz-up a fundraising concert for disabled children.
Music lovers in Kampala can brace themselves for the show by the South African music maestro at the newly-remodelled and picturesque Kampala Serena Hotel, slated for September 2.
Born near Johannesburg in 1939, Masekela boasts a four-decade music career, spanning from his first love jazz and pop to RnB, honed by a number of performances and bewitching skills on the saxophone. He also plays other instruments.
South African Airways (SAA), Uganda Society for the Disabled Children (USDC), The New Vision and telecommunications firm MTN have joined hands to sponsor Masekela’s first trip here.
In his closing remarks at a press conference at Serena Hotel yesterday, MTN’s chief executive officer Noel Meier captured the sense of euphoria that lies ahead.
“Ladies and gentlemen, there are exciting times before us,” Meier said.
The New Vision sales and marketing manager, Tony Glencross, said Uganda’s leading daily was proud to identify itself with other firms on Masekela’s visit, which he described as noble.
USDC thematic director Connie Tinka Kekihembo said the visit was aimed at raising awareness about disabled children, while SAA country director Yogi Biriggwa spoke highly of Masekela, saying SAA was honoured to be part of the event.
Concert tickets will be sold at the MTN service centres located at Game Lugogo and Crested Towers and at the MTN shops at Garden City and Sheraton Kampala Hotel.
Individual tickets will go for sh50,000, while a 10- seat corporate table will cost sh3m. All proceeds from the concert, Meier said, will go towards efforts by USDC, a child- focused local NGO, to highlight the plight of disabled children in Uganda.
The concert is part of a series of activities to mark USDC’s 20th anniversary under the theme ‘A Chance to Be.’ USDC provides medical and social rehabilitation to children with disabilities.
The South African trumpeter is best known for his 1968 feel-good worldwide smash hit, Grazin’ In The Grass.
His 1987 hit Bring Him Back Home became the anthem for Nelson Mandela’s world tour following his release from prison in 1992.
Source: New Vision
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