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Sathima Bea Benjamin

South African vocalist, composer, and lyricist Sathima Bea Benjamin was born October 17, 1936 in Johannesburg and raised in Cape Town, where she began singing in church. As a youth, she first performed popular music in talent contests held during intermission at the local cinema and by the late 1950s she was singing at various nightclubs, community dances and social events. She built her repertoire watching British and American movies and listening to the radio, where she discovered Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald and other jazz and pop singers who would influence her early singing style. At the age of 21, she joined Arthur Klugman's traveling show, Coloured Jazz and Variety, on a tour of South Africa. When the production failed, she found herself stranded on the road where she was fortunate enough to meet legendary South African saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi. In 1959, she returned to Capetown where she took her place on the city’s by-then flourishing jazz scene. There she would meet pianist Dollar Brand (aka Abdullah Ibrahim), whom she would later marry. They began working together and in that same year she recorded what would have been the first jazz LP in South Africa's history. Titled My Songs for You, with accompaniment by Ibrahim’s trio, the recording of mostly standards was sadly never released. In the aftermath of South Africa’s Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, Benjamin and Ibrahim decided to join the growing South African exile community in Europe. The couple, along with bassist Johnny Gertze and drummer Makhaya Ntshoko, settled in Zurich, Switzerland and worked throughout Germany and Scandinavia, meeting some of the greatest American jazz players, including Don Byas, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Drew, Ben Webster, Bud Powell, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk. The artist who would have the greatest impact on Benjamin’s life, however, was the inimitable Duke Ellington. Benjamin met Duke while he was in Zurich in 1963. Standing in the wings during most of his band’s performance, once the concert ended she insisted that Duke hear her husband’s trio at the Club Africana, a local jazz spot where the couple worked fairly regularly. Duke obliged, but insisted that Benjamin sing for him. He adored her voice and promptly arranged for the couple to fly to Paris and record separate albums for Frank Sinatra’s Reprise label. Ibrahim’s record, Duke Ellington Presents The Dollar Brand Trio, was released the following year and subsequently helped him build a following in Europe and the United States.

Unfortunately, Benjamin’s recording, despite its excellence and guest appearances by both Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, inexplicably remained unreleased. (The lost date was finally put out in 1996 by Enja Records, under the title A Morning in Paris.) Benjamin maintained a friendly relationship with Ellington, who remained an enthusiastic supporter of her singing. In 1965, Duke arranged to have her perform with his band in the U.S. at the Newport Jazz Festival. At one point, he asked her to join his band permanently, but she declined because it would have taken her away from Ibrahim, whom she had married in February of 1965. Throughout the 1960’s Benjamin and Ibrahim moved back and forth between Europe and New York City, where they struggled to make it in the jazz world. For Benjamin, who had yet to release a recording of her own, gigs were few and far between. She spent much of the period as a staunch supporter of her husband and raising their son, Tsakwe. The year 1976 marked a turning point for Benjamin. She and Ibrahim returned to South Africa to live; she gave birth to her daughter, Tsidi; and went into the studio and recorded African Songbird, the first album under her own name to be released. The LP, made up entirely of original compositions, not only unveiled her considerable talent as a composer, but revealed her interest in South Africa’s freedom struggle. In 1979, she launched her own record label, Ekapa, to produce and distribute her and Ibrahim’s music. Between 1979 and 2002, she released eight of her own albums: Sathima Sings Ellington, Dedications, Memories and Dreams, Windsong, Lovelight, Southern Touch, Cape Town Love, and Musical Echoes. Each of these recordings received critical acclaim hailing Benjamin’s individuality and vocal talents. Dedications was nominated for a Grammy in 1982. A mix of original compositions and standards, the records reveal the full range of her talents as a singer, songwriter and bandleader. Indeed, she had brought together some of the most talented musicians in America to accompany her, including saxophonist Carlos Ward, pianists Kenny Barron, Larry Willis and Onaje Allan Gumbs, bassist Buster Williams and drummers Billy Higgins and Ben Riley. Bringing together her two worlds - Cape Town and New York City - has been an essential element of Benjamin’s music. She’s recorded in both places. For the most part, she has used American musicians for her U.S. recordings and South African musicians when in her native land. However, for her most recent CD, Musical Echoes, she decided to bring the American pianist and collaborator, Stephen Scott, to Cape Town to record with two South Africans, bassist Basil Moses and drummer Lulu Gontsana. The result is a true synthesis of both worlds, incorporating American jazz styles with trademark Cape Town rhythms. Recently, Sathima has begun to receive the kinds of accolades befitting an artist of her stature. In October of 2004, South African president Thabo Mbeki bestowed upon her the Order of Ikhamanga Silver Award in recognition for her “excellent contribution as a jazz artist” in South Africa and internationally, as well as for her contribution “to the struggle against apartheid.” And in March of 2005, the prestigious art group, Pen and Brush, Inc., presented her with a Certificate of Achievement for her work as a performer, musician, composer, and “activist in the struggle for human rights in South Africa.” Sathima is featured in the March 2006 issue of Jazztimes. Sathima’s next album, SongSpirit, was released on October 17th in celebration of her 70th birthday. A compilation record, it includes tracks from her earlier albums, starting with A Morning In Paris and going through Musical Echoes, plus a previously unreleased duet with Abdullah Ibrahim from 1973. In June 2007, Sathima began re-issuing for download her out-of-print back catalogue, beginning with Cape Town Love. In October, she reissued A Morning in Paris for download, followed by a CD release of the album in January 2008. -Bio written by Russ Musto

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Matsuli Music: The Fight Against Forgetting

by Seton Hawkins
May 23, 2018

Now approaching a decade of operations, Matsuli Music has placed itself at the frontline of reissuing some of South Africa's most influential, important, and yet nevertheless now difficult-to-find albums in pursuit of its stated mission: “The Fight Against Forgetting." Indeed, to that end, founder Matthew Temple has done extraordinary work, as thanks to his efforts, classic 1970s fare like Dick Khoza's Chapita, Ndikho Xaba's Ndikho Xaba and the Natives, Sathima Bea Benjamin's African Songbird, Pacific Express' Black Fire, and others ...

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Interview

Sathima Bea Benjamin: Song Without End

by Maxwell Chandler
April 29, 2008

Sathima Bea Benjamin's amazing life reads like the plot to movie. She took time out of her busy schedule to recollect her life's journey from her childhood in pre-apartheid South Africa singing during movie house intermissions to self-imposed exile in Europe where she and pianist composer husband Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) were discovered by Duke Ellington. Despite witnessing and being part of not just her country's history, but her chosen art's as well, this singer remains, to the casual listener ...

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Album Review

Sathima Bea Benjamin: A Morning in Paris

Read "A Morning in Paris" reviewed by Donald Elfman

by Donald Elfman
January 10, 2008

This recording belongs alongside the famous Reprise recording of Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio (Warner Bros., 1963)--now Abdullah Ibrahim. It comes from the same period and introduced the world to Ibrahim's then girlfriend, Beattie Benjamin (now Sathima Bea Benjamin). Actually, Benjamin heard Ellington in Zurich and convinced him to come hear Brand perform. Ellington also insisted that Benjamin sing for him, and the subsequent recordings were thought to be lost until relatively recently. Benjamin is ...

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Album Review

Sathima Bea Benjamin: SongSpirit

by AAJ Staff
December 6, 2006

To celebrate her recent septuagenarian status, vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin selected twelve tracks spanning eight releases for inclusion on SongSpirit, from her first early-'60s sessions to her latest disc (Musical Echoes, 2002), in essence releasing a “greatest hits compilation--though who in jazz makes hit records?! Benjamin wisely selects an array of gems, particularly her standout original South African roots numbers “Africa and “Children of Soweto. Both are features for two close musical partners: bassist Buster Williams--whose inimitable ...

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Album Review

Sathima Bea Benjamin: SongSpirit

Read "SongSpirit" reviewed by Andrew Rowan

by Andrew Rowan
November 1, 2006

Legions of jazz singers are out there these days with good chops and solid work. What is often missing, however, is that individual spark, those personal qualities that set the singer apart from the rest. Sathima Bea Benjamin possesses that spark, with a unique, aching quality in her voice that meshes well with the spirituality that informs her song readings. She can seamlessly move from mournful expression to joyous near exultation, and the SongSpirit compendium brims with these gifts.

This ...

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Album Review

Sathima Bea Benjamin: SongSpirit

Read "SongSpirit" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone

by Michael P. Gladstone
October 27, 2006

Having had the pleasure of hearing the most recent of Sathima Bea Benjamin's albums, Musical Echoes, some six months ago, I'm hesitant to add any more superlatives now that this retrospective look at the career of one of our finest jazz vocalists is about to be released. SongSpirit covers recordings made from 1963-2002. This collection of recordings shows Benjamin's affinity for pianists and includes the participation of some of the best: including Duke Ellington, Kenny Barron, Larry Willis and, of ...

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Megaphone

The Cape Town Jazz Scene

by AAJ Staff
October 14, 2006

By Sathima Bea Benjamin

Its jazz is both similar and different from American jazz. First of all, at the time--the late '40s-50s--we wouldn't even call it jazz if we didn't identify so completely with Black Americans, both in social and political ways. In South Africa and Cape Town especially, you've got the White people and African people and their tribes, but the Coloreds were like a buffer zone--we were never made to feel a sense of pride in our heritage. ...

Obituary

Sathima Bea Benjamin: 1936-2013

Source: Michael Ricci
August 22, 2013

Jazz artist Sathima Bea Benjamin's contribution to jazz was immense and her death was a sudden and sad day for music, say her family and friends. Benjamin, 76, died in her Claremont flat on Monday. The songstress was the former wife of jazz legend Abdullah Ibrahim and the mother of musician Tsakwe Ibrahim and internationally renowned rapper Jean Grae. Benjamin’s sister Edith Benjamin said her death was unexpected and she was alone at home when she died. “When we went ...
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Performance / Tour

Sathima Bea Benjamin Performs at Sweet Rhythm

Source: All About Jazz
December 5, 2008

The legendary South African vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin performs at New York's Sweet Rhythm Jazz Club on Wednesday, December 10 at 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm. Joining Sathima are pianist Stephen Scott, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer George Gray.

Praised by Jazztimes as “South Africa's greatest living jazz singer," vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin has established herself as a highly respected composer and a master interpreter of American jazz standards. Her career includes collaborations with some of the most influential figures ...
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Interview

Vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
April 29, 2008

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Performance / Tour

Tsidi Will Join Sathima as Her Special Guest Tonight at Sweet Rhythm Sets at 8 & 10PM

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
January 23, 2008

Tsidi Will Join Sathima as Her Special Guest Wednesday, January 23, 2008 Sathima Bea Benjamin Stephen Scott - piano Buster Williams - bass George Gray - drums Tsidi Celebrating The Reissue of “A Morning In Paris" , Her Debut Album Featuring Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Abdullah Ibrahim Sets at 8 & 10PM Sweet Rhythm 88 Seventh Avenue South (at Bleecker St) New York, NY 10014 ...
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Recording

Legendary Duke Ellington Jazz Performance in Stores Today

Source: All About Jazz
January 22, 2008

South African vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin's long-lost debut album, A Morning in Paris, recorded in 1963, produced by Duke Ellington, and featuring Sathima in performance with Duke, Billy Strayhorn, and Abdullah Ibrahim sharing piano duties, is once again available, released in stores today.

Sathima Bea Benjamin will celebrate the CD's release at Sweet Rhythm on Wednesday, January 23, 2008. Joining Sathima for the concert are pianist Stephen Scott, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer George Gray.

Originally from Cape Town, South ...
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Performance / Tour

Hip Hop Artist Jean Grae to Perform with Her Mother, Vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin

Source: All About Jazz
January 9, 2008

The New York-based hip hop star Jean Grae will join her mother, the legendary South African jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin, onstage at New York's Sweet Rhythm jazz club on Wednesday, January 23, 2008. This concert will mark the first time the two have performed together.

The performance also celebrates the re-issue of Sathima's 1963 debut album A Morning in Paris, which features Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Sathima's husband Abdullah Ibrahim all accompanying her on the piano. Due out ...
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Performance / Tour

South African Jazz Singer Sathima Bea Benjamin's CD Release Concert, 1/23/08

Source: All About Jazz
January 3, 2008

South African jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin celebrates the January 22 reissue of A Morning in Paris--her 1963 masterpiece recorded with Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Abdullah Ibrahim as pianists-- at Sweet Rhythm on Wednesday, January 23, 2008. Joining Sathima for the concert are pianist Stephen Scott, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer George Gray.

Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Grammy-nominated singer Sathima Bea Benjamin has established herself as a master interpreter of American jazz standards, having recorded with some ...
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129

Performance / Tour

Sathima Bea Benjamin "A Morning in Paris" CD Release Event at Sweet Rhythm Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
December 20, 2007

Wednesday, January 23, 2008 Sathima Bea Benjamin Stephen Scott - piano Buster Williams - bass George Gray - drums Celebrating The Reissue of “A Morning In Paris" , Her Debut Album Featuring Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Abdullah Ibrahim Sets at 8 & 10PM Sweet Rhythm 88 Seventh Avenue South (at Bleecker St) New York, NY ...
read more

Performance / Tour

Sathima Bea Benjamin 'A Morning in Paris' CD Release Event at Sweet Rhythm Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
November 23, 2007

Sathima Bea Benjamin Celebrates 71st Birthday at Sweet Rhythm & Reissue of A Morning In Paris , Her Debut Album Featuring Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Abdullah Ibrahim

Sets at 8 & 10PM

Sweet Rhythm 88 Seventh Avenue South (at Bleecker St) New York, NY 10014 (212) 255-3626 $15 cover, $10 drink minimum

South African jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin celebrates the reissue of A Morning in Paris--her ...
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194

Recording

Legendary Duke Ellington Jazz Performance Reissued for Download and CD

Source: All About Jazz
October 15, 2007

The Duke Ellington-produced album A Morning in Paris -- recorded in 1963 by South African jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin featuring Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Abdullah Ibrahim as pianists -- will be reissued for download on Tuesday, October 16 in celebration of Sathima's 71st birthday. CDs will be in stores January 22, 2008, but advance copies will be available at Sathima's birthday concert at New York's Sweet Rhythm Jazz Club on Wednesday, October 17.

The story of Sathima Bea ...
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