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Sathima Bea Benjamin Celebrates 71st Birthday at Sweet Rhythm As Well As Reissue of Her Debut Album |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Friday, 05 October 2007 |
Legendary South African jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin celebrates the reissue of A Morning in Paris—her 1963 masterpiece recorded with Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Abdullah Ibrahim as pianists—as well as her 71st birthday, with a performance at Sweet Rhythm on Wednesday, October 17, 2007. A Morning in Paris, Sathima's stunning debut album that was thought to be lost for nearly 40 years only to resurface in the mid-90s, will finally be made available for download from online vendors on October 16, with CDs hitting stores January 22, 2008. However, advance copies will be available for purchase at her Sweet Rhythm birthday concert this October. Sathima Bea Benjamin will be performing with pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs, bassist Marcus McLaurine, and drummer George Gray.
 Benjamin with Ellington
Originally from Cape Town, Sathima Bea Benjamin is one of South Africa's musical treasures. In 1977 that Sathima and her family left South Africa in self-exile to settle in New York. Through her contacts at the ANC office there she was given the opportunity to become a cultural ambassador. Over the years, Sathima established herself as one of the greatest living jazz singers in the world, having worked with such musical legends as Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and her husband, Abdullah Ibrahim. Throughout her career, Sathima has recorded 11 albums, earned a Grammy nomination, and received in 2004 the Order of Ikhamanga, South Africa's highest honor.
 As a singer, Sathima's interpretations of standards have earned her a devoted audience and the highest praise of critics. Jules Epstein, writing for the Philadelphia Tribune, writes "there may be ten great jazz singers alive today, and Sathima Bea Benjamin is unquestionably one." In Jazztimes, Robin D.G. Kelley described Sathima as "South Africa's greatest jazz singer and one of the best the world has ever known."
Sathima's 2002 album Musical Echoes was released for the first time in the United States on March 21, 2006. Originally recorded in Cape Town with American pianist Stephen Scott and South African musicians Basil Moses on bass and Lulu Gontsana on drums, Musical Echoes showcases a melding of American jazz standards with the Cape Town goema rhythm. Jim Santella of All About Jazz writes of the album, "[Sathima's] unique interpretations leave musical echoes that transcend politics and settle comfortably in a world of aesthetic beauty," while Ken Dryden of All Music Guide gave Musical Echoes a four-star rating.
I started listening to the music of the then so called Negro or colored people in this country. I felt a kinship for also being labeled. The kinship came, of course, with that feeling because the social structure seemed somewhat the same and I could identify with that. I guess it led me to the music, which is jazz, which is what liberates you. It is the most liberating music on the planet. - Sathima Bea Benjamin
For more information, visit Sathima on the web at www.sathimabeabenjamin.com .
Sathima Bea Benjamin with pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs, bassist Marcus McLaurine, and drummer George Gray., and Special Guests
October 17, 2006
Sweet Rhythm
88 Seventh Avenue South (at Bleecker Street)
Sets at 8:00 and 10:00 pm
$20 cover, $10 drink minimum
Phone 212-255-3626 for reservations
http://www.sweetrhythmny.com |
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 Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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