Hotep Idris Galeta (7 June 1941 – 3 November 2010) was a South African

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist and educator. His legal name at birth was Cecil Galeta, but according to local custom he was more commonly known as a child and young man as Cecil Barnard, his father's first name being used instead of a last name.

Biography

Early years

In his teens he played with some of the best jazz musicians in South Africa;

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934), previously known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

(then known as Dollar Brand) and

Lami Zokufa Lami may refer to: People * Lami (name), list of people with the name. Places * Lami, Fiji, town * Lami (Open Constituency, Fiji) * Lami José Lutzenberger Biological Reserve * Lami, Porto Alegre, Brazil Other * Lami F.C., Fijian football te ...

introduced him to

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

and

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

. In 1961 he left South Africa clandestinely, following many other South African performers to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(severe restrictions on public gatherings following the Sharpeville massacre had made entertainment careers impossible for any but white artists, and the already poor quality of life for non-whites was deteriorating rapidly as

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

became ever stricter). After a year in the United Kingdom, he moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

In the US

In the United States, he played and recorded with

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

John Handy John Richard Handy III (born February 3, 1933) is an American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone. He also sings and plays the tenor saxophone, tenor and baritone saxophone, baritone saxophone, saxello, clarinet, and ...

Bobby Hutcherson Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note Records, Blue Note album ''Components (album), Components'', is one of his best-known composi ...

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and f ...

Jackie McLean John Lenwood McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator. He is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their death. Bio ...

Mario Pavone Mario Pavone (November 11, 1940 – May 15, 2021) was an American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead offers that Pavone was not only "great bass player ut also abig-hearted mensch." Early life Pavone was bor ...

Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman a ...

, and

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

. Outside jazz he performed and recorded with

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...

and the

Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the sole consisten ...

. In 1985, Jackie McLean invited him to teach at

The Hartt School The Hartt School is the performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford, a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and Moshe Paranov, Hartt has been part of the University of Hartford since it ...

of the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

, where he taught until his return to South Africa in 1991, following the collapse of apartheid.

Return to South Africa

After his return, he recorded, performed, and taught in South Africa. His teaching engagements included four years on the faculty of the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare () is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to ...

, the musical directorship of a national music education program for high schools, and co-ordination of music outreach programs in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. He was also Project Manager for the establishment of a school of jazz and a multimedia audio visual production center at the

's new urban campus in the east coast South African city of

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

in the

Eastern Cape Province The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

Death

Galeta died in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

on the 3 November 2010, following an asthma attack.

Discography

As leader

*''Heading Home'' (The Sun, 1990) *''Malay Tone Poem'' (

Sheer Sound Sheer Sound is a South African independent record label formed in 1994 by Damon Forbes. History Sheer Sound was formed in November 1994, shortly after South African general election, 1994, South Africa's first democratic elections. The label wa ...

, 2002)

As sideman

With

* ''

Hard Work ''Hard Work'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist John Handy which was recorded in 1976 and originally released on the ABC/Impulse label. Reception The album reached number 4 on the Billboard jazz chart and number 43 on the ''Billboard ...

'' (ABC/Impulse, 1976) With

* '' Bobby Hutcherson Live at Montreux'' (Blue Note, 1974) With

* ''Dynasty'' (Triloka, 1988) * ''Rites of Passage'' (Triloka, 1991) * ''The Jackie Mac Attack Live'' (Birdology, 1991)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galeta, Hotep Idris South African jazz pianists 1941 births 2010 deaths University of Hartford Hartt School faculty Respiratory disease deaths in South Africa Deaths from asthma 20th-century pianists