The Promise of a Future
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name = The Promise of a Future
| type = studio
| artist = Hugh Masekela
| cover = Hugh Masekela - The Promise of a Future.jpg
| border = yes
| alt =
| released = 1968
| recorded = 12–14 March 1968
| venue =
| studio = Gold Star (Hollywood, California)
| genre = Jazz
| length =29:57
| label = Uni Records 73028
| producer = Stewart Levine
| prev_title = Hugh Masekela Is Alive and Well at the Whisky
| prev_year = 1967
| next_title = Africa '68
| next_year = 1968
}}
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|title=Hugh Masekela – The Promise of a Future|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-promise-of-a-future-mw0000618880|website=Allmusic|publisher=allmusic.com|accessdate=5 May 2016|first=Hank |last=Davis}}
|rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
}}
The Promise of a Future is the eighth studio album by South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela released via Uni Records label.{{cite web|title=Hugh Masekela - Biography|url=https://www.amoeba.com/hugh-masekela/artist/116209/bio|website=Amoeba Music|publisher=amoeba.com|accessdate=13 July 2017}} It was recorded in March 1968 in Los Angeles, California.{{cite web|title=Hugh Masekela: The Promise of a Future|url=https://www.discogs.com/Hugh-Masekela-The-Promise-Of-A-Future/release/1357234|website=Discogs|publisher=discogs.com|accessdate=5 May 2016}}{{cite web|title=DISCOGRAPHY: 1955-1969|url=http://www.dougpayne.com/hmd5569.htm#EMANCIPATION|publisher=dougpayne.com|accessdate=5 May 2016}} The album was re-released on CD in 1993 on One Way label. The Promise of a Future features Masekela's version of a famous instrumental composition "Grazing in the Grass".
Reception
A reviewer of Dusty Groove stated: "Classic work from Hugh Masekela – and the album that pushed him over the top! The record features his version of 'Grazin In The Grass', a runaway instrumental hit when it was issued – and a sly little groover that was based upon some earlier South African pop melodies that Hugh copped from his roots. The group's a tight little quintet with Al Abreu on tenor and soprano sax, William Henderson on piano, Chuck Carter on drums, and Henry Franklin on bass."{{cite web|title=Hugh Masekela: Promise of a Future|url=https://www.dustygroove.com/item/12160|website=Dusty Groove|publisher=dustygroove.com|accessdate=5 May 2016}} A reviewer of Billboard added: "Fluent in any musical lingo, Masekela and his crowd should sample all the charts before settling down."{{cite magazine |title=Album Reviews |magazine=Billboard |date=1 June 1968 |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA85 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |language=en}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| collapsed =
| headline =
| title1 = Ain't No Mountain High Enough
| writer1 = Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson
| length1 = 2:00
| title2 = Madonna
| writer2 = Al Abreu
| length2 = 3:10
| title3 = No Face, No Name and No Number
| writer3 = Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood
| length3 = 3:26
| title4 = Almost Seedless
| writer4 = Hugh Masekela
| length4 = 3:36
| title5 = Stop
| writer5 = Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman
| length5 = 2:35
| title6 = Grazing in the Grass
| writer6 = Harry Elston, Philemon Hou, Hugh Masekela
| length6 = 2:40
| title7 = Vuca
| note7 = Wake Up
| writer7 = Hugh Masekela
| length7 = 3:40
| title8 = Bajabula Bonke
| note8 = The Healing Song
| writer8 = Miriam Makeba
| length8 = 6:25
| title9 = There Are Seeds To Sow
| note9 = Guitar – Bruce Langhorne
| writer9 = Hugh Masekela
| length9 = 2:25
}}
Personnel
- Bass – Henry Franklin
- Drums – Chuck Carter
- Guitar – Bruce Langhorne
- Engineer – The Doctor
- Piano – William Henderson
- Producer – Stewart Levine
- Saxophone (tenor, soprano) – Al Abreu
- Trumpet (uncredited) – Hugh Masekela
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.hughmasekela.co.za/index.php/discography}}
{{Hugh Masekela|state=autocollapse}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Promise of a Future}}