In the early 1970s, Hugh Masekela, the exiled South African trumpeter, travelled to West Africa in search of new sounds. In Accra, he found a band called Hedzoleh Soundz.
Masekela had lived in the United States since the early 1960s, where he had a number one hit with “Grazing in the Grass” in 1968. He wanted to reconnect with African music. He spent time in Guinea, Nigeria and Ghana, and he played with Fela Kuti in Lagos.
Hedzoleh Soundz
Hedzoleh Soundz was a Ghanaian band that combined traditional Ghanaian rhythms and instruments, including percussion from the Ga and Ewe traditions, with electric guitars and modern arrangements. The name is often translated as “freedom” in Ga.
The album
Masekela produced and played on Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz, released in 1973. The album mixed Ghanaian polyrhythms, jazz, funk and Masekela’s trumpet. It helped introduce Ghanaian sounds to international listeners.
Masekela also toured with the band, taking Ghanaian drummers and guitarists onto stages in the United States.
Masekela’s Africa
The Hedzoleh years were part of Masekela’s larger return to the continent. In 1974 he helped organise Zaire 74, the music festival held in Kinshasa alongside the Muhammad Ali and George Foreman fight, bringing together African and African American stars. Later, his 1987 song “Bring Him Back Home” called for the release of Nelson Mandela and became an anthem of the anti-apartheid movement.
After Hedzoleh
The collaboration ended after a period, and Masekela continued his work with other African musicians. He returned to South Africa after the end of apartheid and died in 2018.
Some members of Hedzoleh Soundz went on to other bands and careers in Ghana and abroad.
Accra in the 1970s
The early 1970s were a creative time in Ghana’s music scene, with Afro-rock and Afro-funk bands such as Osibisa, the Psychedelic Aliens and others blending rock and funk with local rhythms. Hedzoleh Soundz was part of that wave.
Rediscovery
In recent years, reissue labels and collectors have brought 1970s Ghanaian and Nigerian recordings back to listeners, and Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz is regarded as a classic of the period.
Listening
Listen to the album in full to hear how Masekela’s trumpet sits over the layered Ghanaian percussion.
Masekela went looking for home in West Africa. In Accra, he found a band that could speak his musical language and add its own.
