The Promise Of A Future – HUGH MASEKELA***

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough/Madonna/No Face No Name & No Number/Almost Seedless/Stop/Grazing In The Grassv/Uca/Bajabula Bonka/There Are Seeds To Sow

The Promise Of A Future was the only major commercial album success for South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela in the States. It includes the US chart topping hit single Grazing In The Grass. (US:17)

"Features African and English vocals in an assertive and rough hewn brassy setting."

"Before Hugh Masekela was arranging musicals, he was arranging pop songs. His work on Grazing In The Grass did the same thing Sergio Mendes did so well - to take pop and make it into little mini-jazz tunes. This 1968 album does this with pop songs, covers and Masekela's own material. It is pop, but high pop, with the flow of jazz. Very few people could take music, make it sophisticated, but keep it prime for 1960s AM radio, but he does. Bajabula Bonke is more jazz, and shows what Masekela could do outside of a AM singles context, and that is great too."

"In 1968, a little-known South African-born trumpeter and flugelhornist named Hugh Masakela released an instrumental single called Grazing In The Grass. Its catchy, percussive rhythms and jazzy horn lines made it an international hit, and turned Masakela into an overnight star."

"The Promise Of A Future is a strong jazz album with enough African, Caribbean, jazz, soul and blues sounds to make it more palatable than his previous works. The album is largely instrumental, but there are a few vocal numbers, some of which are weak. It must be said that The Promise Of A Future really lives up to its title by bringing African, jazz, blues, and other stuff into this musical stew. Most of the songs on here are fairly short for a jazz record, but they say as much as a jazz record in which the songs are a bit longer (in some cases). This is one of those records that shows Hugh at his peak, and it shouldn't be overlooked."