Sathima Bea Benjamin
b. 17 October 1936, Cape Town, South Africa. Bea Benjamin began singing in the '50s, and towards the end of the decade met pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, (formerly Dollar Brand), whom she later married. In 1962 Benjamin and Ibrahim visited Switzerland where they met Duke Ellington, who invited them to Paris for a recording date. Ibrahim's records were released, hers were not. Three years later, Benjamin sang with Ellington at the Newport Jazz Festival. For the next decade Benjamin worked mostly with her husband, but in 1976 their declaration of membership of the outlawed African National Congress forced the couple into exile. Living in New York since then, Sathima has continued to work mostly on the east coast although her regular recording sessions, on which she is often accompanied by such leading contemporary musicians as Billy Higginsand Buster Williams, helped bring her unusual talents to the attention of a worldwide audience. Her background gives her material, some of which she writes herself, an angle unusual among artists of her generation. This and her distinctive singing style, filled with nuances of meaning which show a deep appreciation of the lyrics she sings, help make Benjamin's work particularly rewarding. Like so many other fine contemporary singers, Benjamin's repertoire extends far beyond the limitations implied by the term ‘jazz singer’, incorporating as it does popular standards and songs from musical comedies and Broadway shows.