Jazz Articles about Sathima Bea Benjamin

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. ...

Sathima Bea Benjamin: SongSpirit

by Jim Santella
October 8, 2006

A “best of compilation of Sathima Bea Benjamin's work between 1963 and 2002, SongSpirit lets emotions soar through the poignant themes that she's chosen to represent over the years. Whether she's interpreting jazz standards or telling personal stories about her undying dedication to her homeland, Benjamin always gives it a hundred percent. The fact that she prefers to work with various jazz piano trios from the higher echelons means that we get nothing but the best.

The previously ...

Sathima Bea Benjamin: Musical Echoes

by Michael P. Gladstone
March 28, 2006

Musical Echoes marks Sathima Bea Benjamin's return to recording after Cape Town Love (1999). This album was recorded in her hometown, Cape Town, and reflects a certain sense of return for the vocalist. My own association with her music goes back to 1979 and her second album, Sathima Sings Ellington, the first release on her own Ekapa label. Over the years, I've continued to be impressed with her unique voice and consistency. Upon hearing this 2006 update, I have to ...

Sathima Bea Benjamin: Musical Echoes

by Jim Santella
March 20, 2006

Sathima Bea Benjamin recorded this program of jazz standards in February 2002 when she returned to Cape Town to reconnect. The bassist and drummer working with her are from South Africa. The music, however, is universal.

Benjamin uses her veteran ears to experiment with pitch, and her accompanists follow suit. Bassist Basil Moses slides gently through “Caravan, for example, bringing its exotic sheen out into the daylight. Pianist Stephen Scott provides dense harmony, drummer Lulu Gontsana adds unique ...

Sathima Bea Benjamin: Musical Echoes

by AAJ Staff
December 1, 2003

Sathima Bea Benjamin can't recollect her last New York City gig, but she imagines it was well over a half dozen years ago. For some odd reason her talents have inexplicably been kept under wraps for most of her career. Married for over 40 years to pianist and fellow South African Abdullah Ibrahim, a member of the many jazz vocalist-to-instrumentalist marriages (e.g. Ingrid Sertso to Karl Berger; Judi Silvano to Joe Lovano; Irene Aebi to Steve Lacy), Benjamin's work outside ...