Sathima Bea Benjamin

She was born Beatrice Bertha Benjamin in Claremont, Cape Town, South Africa. Her father, Edward Benjamin, was from the island of St. Helena off the coast of West Africa, and her mother, Evelyn Henry, had roots in Mauritius and the Philippines. In that same year she recorded what would have been the first jazz LP in South Africa's history. Entitled My Songs for You, with accompaniment by Ibrahim's trio, the recording of mostly standards was never released. ==Sharpeville Massacre and Europe==

In the aftermath of South Africa's Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, Benjamin and Ibrahim left South Africa for Europe. The couple, along with Ibrahim's trio of bassist Johnny Gertze and drummer Makhaya Ntshoko, settled in Zurich, Switzerland, and worked throughout Germany and Scandinavia, meeting and occasionally working with 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 Duke Ellington. ==Duke Ellington==

Benjamin met Duke Ellington 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 Ellington hear her husband's trio at the Club Africana, where Ibrahim's band had a standing engagement. Ellington obliged, but insisted that Benjamin sing for him. Following this encounter, Ellington arranged for the couple to fly to Paris and record separate albums for Frank Sinatra's Reprise label, She maintained her musical relationship with Ellington. In 1965, he arranged to have her perform with his band in the U.S. at the Newport Jazz Festival (when she sang the Ellington ballad "Solitude"), ==South Africa, America, and Ekapa==

Throughout the 1960s, Benjamin and Ibrahim moved back and forth between Europe and New York City, as Ibrahim worked to establish his career. Benjamin spent much of the period as a manager and agent for her husband while 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 (now the underground hip-hop artist Jean Grae); and recorded African Songbird, an album of original compositions, for South Africa's Gallo Records. Shortly after Tsidi's birth, the family relocated to New York city in 1977, to the famed Hotel Chelsea. Her 2002 recording, Musical Echoes, featured American pianist Stephen Scott with two South Africans, bassist Basil Moses and drummer Lulu Gontsana. ==Later career==

In 2000, Danish second-hand book dealer and fan of South African jazz Lars Rasmussen published a collection of essays and a discography of Benjamin's music in Sathima Bea Benjamin: Embracing Jazz (Copenhagen, 2000). It contains two compact discs of Benjamin's music: Cape Town Love and an Embracing Jazz compilation with photographs. In October 2004, South African president Thabo Mbeki gave her the Order of Ikhamanga Silver Award for "excellent contribution as a jazz artist" and for her contribution "to the struggle against apartheid." In March 2005, the 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". Benjamin was profiled in the March 2006 issue of JazzTimes. Her album SongSpirit was released on 17 October 2006 in celebration of her 70th birthday. A compilation record, it includes tracks from her earlier albums, plus a previously unreleased duet with Abdullah Ibrahim from 1973. In 2007, Benjamin began reissuing her back catalogue for download. Cape Town Love, released 19 June, began the process, while A Morning in Paris was reissued in October 2007 to mark her 71st birthday. It was released for download on 16 October, and reissued on CD on 22 January 2008. In December 2008, she performed at the Apollo Theater at the closing of the concert Bricktop at the Apollo, hosted by film director Jordan Walker-Pearlman. ==Discography==

• African Songbird with Dollar Brand (The Sun, 1976) • Sathima Sings Ellington (Ekapa, 1979) • Dedications (Ekapa, 1982) • WindSong with Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, Billy Higgins (Ekapa, 1985) • Memories and Dreams (Ekapa, 1986) • LoveLight (Ekapa, 1988) • Southern Touch (Enja, 1989) • A Morning in Paris (Enja, 1997) • Musical Echoes (Ekapa, 2002) • Cape Town Love (Ekapa, 2003) • Song Spirit (Ekapa, 2006) ==References==