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Sathima Bea Benjamin

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Sathima Bea Benjamin was a South African singer and composer. She was born in 1936 in Claremont, Cape Town, and sang as a teenager at talent contests in the cinema. In the 1950s she performed in nightclubs and at dances with Cape pianists. Her singing style, with light phrasing and clear diction, was shaped by Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Doris Day and Ella Fitzgerald, whom she knew from the radio. In 1959 she met the pianist Dollar Brand, later known as Abdullah Ibrahim, in Cape Town, and married him in 1965.

Music and breakthrough

After the Sharpeville massacre in 1960 they left South Africa and settled in Zurich. In 1963 she met Duke Ellington, who had her sing and had the couple flown to Paris to record for the label Reprise. Her recording remained unreleased for a long time and appeared only in 1996 as A Morning in Paris. In 1965 she sang Solitude with Ellington's orchestra at the Newport Jazz Festival.

Influence

In 1976 she recorded African Songbird in South Africa, after which the family moved to New York. In 1979 she founded the label Ekapa, on which she released eight albums, including Dedications, WindSong, LoveLight and Musical Echoes. Dedications received a Grammy nomination in 1982. She worked with American jazz musicians in New York and with South African musicians in Cape Town. She died in 2013. Her work links the jazz standards of Ellington with the voice of Cape Town.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to A Morning in Paris and notice her light, clear way of singing: she does not use many ornaments, but puts the emphasis on the words and the phrasing.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists