Sathima Bea Benjamin
An enchanting, evocative vocalist, Satima Bea Benjamin made several recordings as a leader after establishing herself in Abdullah Ibrahim's (her husband) band during the '70s. Benjamin performed and recorded show tunes, standards, and traditional South African and African music, and she improvised on her originals and other jazz pieces. Benjamin and Ibrahim (then known as Dollar Brand) met in South Africa at the end of the '50s. After leaving their homeland and immigrating to Europe, they met Duke Ellington in Switzerland in 1962. He sponsored recordings for the two; Benjamin's was unfortunately not released for the first time until 1996. She eventually sang with Ellington's orchestra at Newport (1965) and her first full recorded set as a leader (1979) was an Ellington tribute. Benjamin led dates for Ekapa, BlackHawk, and Enja, and used such fine musicians as Ricky Ford, Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, and Billy Higgins. She died at her home in Cape Town, South Africa on August 20, 2013; Sathima Bea Benjamin was 76 years old.
© Ron Wynn & Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Discography
4 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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African Songbird
Vocal Jazz - Released by As-Shams - The Sun on 1/01/1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sathima Bea Benjamin: A Morning in Paris Featuring Duke Ellington
Jazz - Released by Blue Velvet on 19/01/2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Morning in Paris
Jazz - Released by ENJA RECORDS Matthias Winckelmann on 30/12/1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love Light
Sathima Bea Benjamin, Billy Higgins, Buster Williams, Larry Willis, Ricky Ford
Jazz - Released by ENJA RECORDS Matthias Winckelmann on 1/01/1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo