South African jazz trumpeter and anti-apartheid activist passed away after a battle with prostate cancer. “After a protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer, he passed peacefully in Johannesburg, South Africa,” his family said in a statement.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVMKz6s5WMM]The news triggered an outpouring of tributes to his music, his long career and his fight against white majority rule in his home nation.
South African President Jacob Zuma said the nation would mourn a man who “kept the torch of freedom alive”.
“It is an immeasurable loss to the music industry and to the country at large. His contribution to the struggle for liberation will never be forgotten,” Zuma said in a statement.