Soweto Blues

Hugh Masekela & Miriam Makeba · 1976 (year to be confirmed)

Context

Song born in 1976 after the Soweto uprising of June 16, whose repression of schoolchildren it evokes; the lyrics are attributed to Hugh Masekela, the melody being co-written with Ghanaian trumpeter and guitarist Stanley Todd. Miriam Makeba made it a classic of her concerts; her best-known version is on the album Welela (1989).

In the genealogy of jazz

This track belongs to South African jazz. Among the origins and influences of South African jazz: Free jazz, Bebop (Minton's, Monroe's).

By the same artist

• Stimela (Coaltrain) (1974)
• Grazing in the Grass (1968)
• Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela) (1987)

Sources

• EN: Soweto Blues
• allafrica.com

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