Sathima Bea Benjamin Performs At Sweet Rhythm Jazz Club On Thursday, May 25, 2006

Legendary vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin celebrates the U.S. release of her album Musical Echoes with a performance at New York's Sweet Rhythm Jazz Club on Thursday, May 25. Sets begin at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with a $20 cover, $10 drink minimum.

Originally from Cape Town, Sathima Bea Benjamin is one of South Africa's musical treasures, and has over the years established herself as one of the greatest living jazz singers in the world, having worked with such musical legends as Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and her husband, Abdullah Ibrahim. Throughout her career, Sathima has recorded 11 albums, earned a Grammy nomination, and received in 2004 the Order of Ikhamanga, South Africa's highest honor.

As a singer, Sathima's interpretations of standards have earned her a devoted audience and the highest praise of critics. Jules Epstein, writing for the Philadelphia Tribune, writes “there may be ten great jazz singers alive today, and Sathima Bea Benjamin is unquestionably one." In Jazztimes, Robin D.G. Kelley described Sathima as “South Africa's greatest jazz singer and one of the best the world has ever known."

Sathima's 2002 album Musical Echoes was released for the first time in the United States on March 21, 2006. Originally recorded in Cape Town with American pianist Stephen Scott and South African musicians Basil Moses on bass and Lulu Gontsana on drums, Musical Echoes showcases a melding of American jazz standards with the Cape Town goema rhythm. Jim Santella of All About Jazz writes of the album, “[Sathima's] unique interpretations leave musical echoes that transcend politics and settle comfortably in a world of aesthetic beauty," while Ken Dryden of All Music Guide gave Musical Echoes a four-star rating.

Sathima Bea Benjamin
May 25, 2006
Sweet Rhythm
88 Seventh Avenue South (at Bleecker Street)
Sets at 8:00 and 10:00 pm
$20 cover, $10 drink minimum
Phone 212-255-3626 for reservations
http://www.sweetrhythmny.com