Beatrice "Sathima Bea" Benjamin was a South African vocalist and composer, based for nearly 45 years in New York City.
14 Facts About Sathima Bea Benjamin
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Sathima Bea Benjamin 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.
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Sathima Bea Benjamin built her repertoire watching British and American movies and transcribing lyrics from songs heard on the radio, where she discovered Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald.
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The artist who would have the greatest impact on Sathima Bea Benjamin's life was Duke Ellington.
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Sathima Bea Benjamin met Ellington while he was in Zurich in 1963.
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Sathima Bea Benjamin's recording remained unreleased and was presumed to be lost until its release in 1996 by Enja Records, under the title A Morning in Paris.
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Sathima Bea Benjamin spent much of the period as a manager and agent for her husband while raising their son, Tsakwe.
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In 1979, Sathima Bea Benjamin started a record label Ekapa to produce and distribute her and Ibrahim's music.
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Sathima Bea Benjamin's 2002 recording, Musical Echoes, featured American pianist Stephen Scott with two South Africans, bassist Basil Moses and drummer Lulu Gontsana.
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Sathima Bea Benjamin was profiled in the March 2006 issue of JazzTimes.
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In 2007, Sathima Bea Benjamin began reissuing her back catalogue for download.
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In 2010, she was the subject of the documentary Sathima Bea Benjamin's Windsong, directed by author and professor Daniel Yon.
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Sathima Bea Benjamin returned to Cape Town in 2011, where she continued to work as a vocalist.
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Sathima Bea Benjamin died on 20 August 2013 at the age of 76.