A South African “Kaleidoscope”
January 20th, 2008 by Adrienne
Last night, Hugh Masekela told the audience to cheer loudly, but not so loudly that they took the roof off of Bailey Hall. But in the end, it was Masekela and his Chissa All-Stars who ended up ripping the roof right off with their energetic and passionate music.
Masekela himself played the flugelhorn, sang, emoted (using his voice to imitate the screeching of a train), told stories, and busted out some great dance moves. He also led a group of dynamic musicians on guitar, bass, percussion, drums, vocals, saxophone, violin, and keyboards.
Saying that he’d be showing the audience a “kaleidoscope” of music happening today in South Africa, Masekela brought on several guest musicians who sang and performed their own songs. Their spirit and energy was amazing and inspirational.
The number of people on their feet and dancing on the aisles was impressive – even for Ithaca! Several times during the show, Masekela managed to get the entire audience (there were a thousand tickets sold!) on their feet, dancing, cheering, and singing along.
After a standing ovation, as the audience trickled out of the performance hall, the band began to play again. We rushed back in to see what was happening. The audience remained on its feet, cheering as Masekela performed his hit 1987 song “Bring Him Back Home,” about Nelson Mandela, as an encore.
