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South African Pianist Hotep Idris Galeta Honors President-Elect Barack Obama with New Album

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South African jazz pianist Hotep Idris Galeta honors President-elect Barack Obama with Funkin' for Obama, made available for download on CDBaby today, and featuring the Cape Town Digital Jazz Band.

The South African jazz pianist Hotep Idris Galeta was born in Crawford, Cape Town and grew up exposed to the rich music culture in and around the city. After meeting Abdullah Ibrahim, then known as Dollar Brand, at a high school jazz concert, the two became close friends and Brand became Hotep's mentor. Hotep, or as he was known in the 50's, Cecil Barnard, went on to establish himself as one of the young emerging pianists on the Cape Town Jazz scene.

Hotep left South Africa in 1961 for London and then New York, remaining in exile for thirty years, during which he worked with jazz figures such as Jackie McLean, Woody Shaw, Elvin Jones, and Archie Shepp. He was appointed lecturer in Jazz studies to the University of Hartford's Hartt College of Music in 1985. This position continued until his return to South Africa in 1991.

In 2003, Hotep released the critically acclaimed solo album Malay Tone Poem, recorded with some of South Africa's rising jazz stars including Marcus Wyatt and Zim Ngqawana. Hotep currently is the Director of the Miriam Makeba Center of Performing Arts at the University of Fort Hare's campus in the city of East London in South Africa.

For more information on the album, visit http://cdbaby.com/cd/hotep

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