As the London Jazz Festival comes to a close this weekend, the Barbican is hosting a special tribute to the South African singer Miriam Makeba, who died a year ago this month.

Curated and presented by Angelique Kidjo the evening with featuring special guests Vieux Farka Touré, Baaba Maal, Asa, Vusi Mahlasela, Sayon Bamba, Dobet Gnahore and South African chorus

Kidjo worked to the UN (see UN Day Concert: A Tribute to Peacekeeping) and she’s says Mekeba saw her has a natural successor and musician and political activist.

In 2006, Makeba embarked on a farewell world tour saying goodbye to the millions of fans she’d made since her career took off in the 1950s. And it was on Sunday, 9th November 2008 she gave her last performance as she suffered from a heart attack on stage in Italy during a benefit concert against organised crime.

The oft said adage, “that that’s the way she’d like to have gone” might be true in this case as this is what she loved to do the most, singing and using her position of influence to speak out against injustice in her own country, continent and the rest of the world; incredibly, of a 50 year career, 30 were in exile!

In view of this, was there ever a better duet of version of ‘I Shall Be Released (Thulasizwe)’ than Makeba and Nina Simone?

As a teenager, her reputation as a singer grew as she was invited to sing at weddings but after the birth of a daughter and her marriage break-up, she went off to Johannesburg to sing professionally and joined the Manhattan Brothers in 1952. Five years on, as she’d made a name for herself, the record company got her to lead a female group to rival the Manhattan’s, The Sunbeams who evolved into The Skylarks. The CD ends with a couple of these old tracks and it’s obviously why she stood out as a singer at such an early age,

Her break-thorough came in 1959 with a tour of South Africa in a variety show and then in the first “African Jazz Opera”, both of which exposed her to multi-racial audiences. A documentary film followed and whilst out of the country at the premier, her passport was revoked thus commencing the exile. Political activism in these changing terms was perhaps inevitable as arguable a complicated string of relationships.

Her global break through was due to her friendship with Harry Belafonte and an album An Evening With Harry Belafonte and Miriam Mekeba. Whilst in the U.S. she met another exile, Hugh Masekela (last seen on Thandiswa Mazwai’s Ibokwe) but the marriage proved to be a mistake and they divorced after only two years.

And then there was another marriage to Guinean black activist that led effectively led to another exile, this time from the U.S. (this was in the late 60s) and moved to Guinea; this is where she earned her ‘mother’ status with humanitarian work and spoke out at the UN against apartheid.

She toured in with Paul Simon promoting his Gracelands album and Nelson Mandela described the singer as the country’s “first lady of song”. But the CD is not just her signature tune ‘Pata Pata’ and a load of fillers, its quality thorough out and the Latin tracks are a great surprise; ‘Mas Que Nada’ is particularly good.

The release is a compiled by the record company and the Makeba Trust. The 38 songs are in various styles and genres and accompanying booklet is fitting celebration of her life and music. And as a reminder of her influence, when I was talking to Carlos Niño this week (in town for the London Jazz Festival, see interview HERE), when I asked him about where to see great jazz in L.A. he said, “the Catalina Bar & Grill is the place, I’ve seen Bobby Hutcherson, Charles Lloyd, Elvin Jones, Max Roach and Miriam Makeba there”; Mama Afrika (1932-2008) R.I.P.

Reviewed: Miriam Makeba - Mama Afrika (1932-2008) (Gallo) Cat. No. 5051865-3593-2-6 Release date: 5th October 2009
Tracklisting:
CD1
1. Quit It
2. Meet Me At The River
3. Hapo Zamani
4. Choo Choo Train
5. Malaika (My Angel)
6. West Wind
7. We Got To Make It (The Question)
8. Malaisha (Bring The Axe)
9. Welela
10. Miriam Makeba & The Skylarks - Remember Sophiatown
11. Mbube (The Lion Cries)
12. Iyaguduza
13. Soweto Blues
14. Ndibanga Hamba
15. La Guinee Guinee
16. Emabhaceni
17. Promise, A
18. Liwawetchi
19. Umoya
CD2
1. Inhlupheko Iphelile
2. Thulasizwe with Nina Simone
3. African Sunset
4. Mas Que Nada
5. Xica Da Silver
6. Samba
7. Pata Pata
8. Kikirikiki
9. Kilimanjaro
10. Ibhabhalazi
11. Amampondo
12. Mama featuring Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse
13. The Click Song
14. Hauteng
15. Lindelani
16. Back Of The Moon
17. Mama Ndiyalila
18. Miriam Makeba & The Skylarks - Miriam And Spokes’ Phatha Phatha
19. Miriam Makeba & Manhattan Brothers - Ntyilo Ntyilo

Links:
www.miriammakeba.co.za
The BBC’s Mike Wooldridge spoke to African singer Angelique Kidjo ahead of the concert.
21-11-09 - 08:56 http://news.bbc.co.uk/today
Mama Africa: Celebrating Miriam Makeba - Curated and presented by Angelique Kidjo with special guests Vieux Farka Toure, Baaba Maal, Asa, Vusi Mahlasela, Sayon Bamba, Dobet Gnahore & South African chorus
21 November 2009 / 20:00 Barbican Hall Tickets: £10-25 www.barbican.org.uk
Cover photo by Jurgen Schadeberg, 1955 www.jurgenschadeberg.com
www.myspace.com/thandiswaofficial
www.catalinajazzclub.com 6725 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood California 90028 Phone: (323) 466-2210
www.gallo.co.za