Miriam Makeba "Mama Africa" singer & anti-apartheid activist says farewell...

[Jahness]

Mama Africa Miriam Makeba says farewell
to the international stage

Sun Sep 25, 7:24 PM ET

After a career of more than 50 years, South Africa's legendary singer and anti-apartheid activist Miriam Makeba has decided she will end her performing days with a farewell international tour which starts here Monday.



"I have to go and say farewell to all the countries that I have been to, if I can. I am 73 now, it is taxing on me," Makeba said in an interview with AFP while she prepared for the first concert.

Her voice has lost nothing as she sings the hit "Pata Pata", which has excited generations around the world, neither has her sense of timing which she marks with her elegant but simple shoes.

"I don't want to travel as much as I have been. But as long as I'll have my voice, I'll keep on recording," said the singer who won a Grammy award in 1966 for best folk recording with Harry Belafonte for the album "An Evening with Belafonte and Makeba" and performed with Paul Simon on his Graceland tour in the mid-1980s.

A new album will be released "very soon" with a new version of "Malaika", another hit which she reworks with the South African Miagi Orchestra, conducted by the Argentine maestro Dante Anzolini and with whom she will perform the Johannesburg concert and another in Cape Town on September 29.

"Makeba doesn't know where 'doe' is, where 're' is, so you have to be patient" she admitted to the stupefied young musicians of Miagi, with whom she is making the farewell tour, due to wrap up sometime next year.

"After, I will stay at home and be the great-grandmother that I am."

Then she admitted with a burst of laughter, that she "has a lot" of record projects: "I want also to rework some of my early songs."

It's difficult to imagine Makeba giving up live performances. However her South African concerts will definitely be "the beginning of the grand finale", said Robert Brooks, director of Miagi.

To sing in her own country with such an orchestra, is however, a first.

"I was so scared. Such a big orchestra" Makeba said with a smile, relieved after the first practice.

But a professional in every way, she carefully welcomes suggestions, repeating, as many times as necessary, each melody. At the break, far from playing the star, Makeba relaxes ... surprising everyone with a bewitching a capella of "Liwawechi", quickly joined by the drums of her loyal percussionist Papa Kouyate, who she met by chance during her travels.

Leaving South Africa on tour in 1959, Makeba, who "never sang of politics, only the truth", paid with 31 years of exile for her commitment to human rights. Having condemned apartheid all the way to the United Nations, she was banished and didn't see her hometown Johannesburg until the freeing of Nelson Mandela in 1990.

"Mama Africa" sang about all the independence struggles of the continent. "People gave me that name. At first I said to myself: 'Why do they want to give me that responsibility, carrying a whole continent?' Then I understood that they did that affectionately. So I accepted. I am Mama Africa."

Makeba says she is "very happy in my new South Africa," but is aware of the problems.

"We have only had 11 years of democracy but we are moving, we are moving forward faster than many countries who have been independent a long, long time before. We all have to do it together, all of us, found ourselves this country regardless we are black, white or whatever!".

As part of this work, Makeba has founded a centre for the rehabilitation of youths from the street, introducing them to performing music.

"They all have a lot of talent. When they sing, ouah, they sing! When they dance, haaa, they dance! I really think that the next performers could be among those girls."

The next Makeba? "No, nobody can replace me as I can't replace anyone else," said the singer, who wants to leave a memory of, simply, a "very good old lady".

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050925...a_050925232237

Copyright © 2005 Agence France Presse.

[XXPANTHAXX]

Personal Information
Born Zensi Miriam Makeba, March 4, 1932, in Prospect (near Johannesburg), South Africa; immigrated to United States, 1959; daughter of a Xhosa teacher and a Swazi domestic worker; married Sonny Pilay (a singer), 1959 (divorced, 1959); married Hugh Masekela (a musician), 1964 (divorced, 1966); married Stokely Carmichael (a civil rights activist), 1968 (divorced, 1978); married fifth husband, Bageot Bah (an airline executive); children: (first marriage) Bongi (daughter; deceased). Education: Attended Kimerton Training Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.

Career
Domestic worker in Johannesburg, South Africa; vocalist; toured South Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and the Belgian Congo (now Zaire) with the Black Mountain Brothers, 1954-57; performed throughout Africa, the U.S., England, France, Denmark, and Italy, 1957-; recording artist; performed with singer Paul Simon's Graceland tour of Africa, 1987, and the U.S., 1988. Appeared in film Come Back, Africa, 1959. Former United Nations delegate from Guinea, West Africa.

Memberships
ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers).

Awards: Grammy Award for best folk recording, 1965, for An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba; Dag Hammarskjold Peace Prize, 1986.

Addresses
Record company--Polydor Records, Worldwide Plaza, 825 8th Ave., New York, NY 10019.

South African singer and political activist Miriam Makeba is chief among those who have proclaimed the experiences of black South Africans. Throughout a career spanning more than three decades, she has established herself as a powerful voice in the fight against apartheid--the South African practice of institutional political, economic, and social oppression along racial lines. Often referred to as "Mother Africa" and "The Empress of African Song," Makeba is credited with bringing the rhythmic and spiritual sounds of Africa to the West. Her music is a soulful mix of jazz, blues, and traditional African folk songs shaded with potent political overtones. Using music as a primary forum for her social concerns, the singer has become a lasting symbol in the fight for racial equality and has come to represent the pain of all South Africans living in exile.

Makeba's first encounter with the severity of government rule in her native land came when she was just two and a half weeks old: Following her mother's arrest for the illegal sale of home-brewed beer, the infant served a six-month jail term with her. Makeba's formative years were equally difficult; as a teenager she performed backbreaking domestic work for white families and endured physical abuse from her first husband. She found solace and a sense of community in music and religion. Singing first in a choir, Makeba soon showcased her talents with local bands, achieving success on the regional club circuit.

Makeba captured international attention with her role in the film Come Back, Africa, a controversial anti-apartheid statement released in 1959. Following the film's debut at the Venice Film Festival, Makeba traveled to London, where she met respected American entertainer and social activist Harry Belafonte. Impressed by her unique and profound renderings of African folk songs, he served as her mentor and promoter in the United States, arranging performances for her in New York City clubs and a guest spot on The Steve Allen Show. This exposure brought Makeba worldwide acclaim and launched a cross-cultural music career of uncommon proportions.

The 1960s proved an especially tumultuous decade for Makeba. Her outspoken opposition to the repressive political climate in South Africa set the stage for harsh government retaliation. Makeba's call for an end to apartheid became increasingly powerful, and her recordings were subsequently banned in South Africa. More than three decades of exile began for the singer in 1960, when, seeking to return to her native land for her mother's funeral, her passport was invalidated by the South African government. Makeba also endured turmoil in her personal life. Between 1959 and 1966 she suffered two failed marriages, one to singer Sonny Pilay and another to trumpeter Hugh Masekela. In the early 1960s she faced a serious threat to her health, battling cervical cancer through radical surgery.

Perhaps the biggest blow to Makeba's career, however, came with her 1968 marriage to American civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael. A self-avowed revolutionary, Carmichael took a militant "Black Power" stance that was often perceived as divisive and threatening to the fabric of American society. Having long used song as a vehicle to raise social and political awareness, Makeba was stunned by the devastating effect of her marriage on her career; her relationship with Carmichael effectively eliminated her arena for social expression in the West. In her autobiography Makeba: My Story, she recalled her suddenly unwelcome status in the United States: "My concerts are being canceled left and right. I learn that people are afraid that my shows will finance radical activities. I can only shake my head. What does Stokely have to do with my singing?" When her record label, Reprise, refused to honor her contract in the States, Makeba moved with Carmichael to Guinea, West Africa.

Although Makeba's marriage to Carmichael ended in 1978, she remained in Guinea for several years. She continued performing in Europe and parts of Africa, promoting freedom, unity, and social change. During the singer's time in Guinea, though, heartbreaking misfortune again touched her life. Her youngest grandson became fatally ill, and her only daughter, Bongi, died after delivering a stillborn child. Yet, through all of her trials, Makeba has derived consolation from her music and her undying faith in God.

In the spring of 1987 Makeba joined American folk-rock legend Paul Simon's phenomenal Graceland tour in the newly independent black nation of Zimbabwe. An unprecedented display of multicultural music and racial unity, the concert focused attention on the injustice of imperial racist policies in South Africa and displayed the talents of generations of South African musicians. Following the success and exposure afforded her by the Graceland tour, Makeba recorded her first American release in two decades, a tribal collection titled Sangoma, which means diviner-healer. Featuring African chants that the singer learned in her youth from her mother, the solo album cast a new light on the soulful, spiritual sounds of her native land. Makeba's follow-up album--the 1989 Polydor debut Welela--blended traditional songs with popular compositions.

In a Chicago Tribune interview, Makeba summarized her thoughts on life in exile: "I have love, but I also have suffering. I am a South African. I left part of me there. I belong there." In June of 1990 Makeba was finally allowed to go home; she visited Johannesburg for the first time in 31 years. The following year Polydor released Eyes on Tomorrow, an upbeat protest album recorded in a Johannesburg studio. Featuring pioneering jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, rhythm and blues singer Nina Simone, and Hugh Masekela, Eyes on Tomorrow is generally considered a more commercial mix of pop, blues, and jazz than Makeba's previous efforts.

A spokesperson for civil rights throughout the world, Makeba continues to stand as the embodiment of the black South African experience. As New York Times contributor Robert Farris Thompson put it: "She is a symbol of the emergence of Afro-Atlantic art and a voice for her people. Her life in multiple cultural and political settings--and her rich musical career, drawing on traditional and contemporary sources--have resonance for us all."

Writings
The World of African Song, edited by Jonas Gwangwa and E. John Miller, Jr., Time Books, 1971. (With James Hall) Makeba: My Story (autobiography), New American Library, 1987.

Selected Discography
An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba, RCA, 1965. "Pata Pata" (single), 1967. Sangoma, Warner Bros., 1988. Welela, Polydor, 1989. Eyes on Tomorrow, Polydor, 1991. Africa, reissued, Novus, 1991. Miriam Makeba Sings, RCA. The World of Miriam Makeba, RCA. Back of the Moon, Kapp. Miriam Makeba in Concert, Reprise.

Sources
Books: Makeba, Miriam, and James Hall, Makeba: My Story, New American Library, 1987. Periodicals: Africa Report, January 1977. Chicago Tribune, March 20, 1988. Ebony, April 1963; July 1968. Ms., May 1988. Nation, March 12, 1988. New York Times, February 28, 1960; February 15, 1987; January 27, 1988; January 31, 1988; March 8, 1988; March 13, 1988; June 11, 1990. Playboy, October 1991. Rolling Stone, July 2, 1987. Time, February 1, 1960. Times Literary Supplement, March 11, 1988. Tribune Books (Chicago), January 24, 1988. Washington Post, April 19, 1988.

~~ Barbara Carlisle Bigelow

[Jahness]

Greetings XXPANTHA!

Welcome,it's great seeing you. Miriam Makeba is well loved all
over the world. Her activism for her people is ell known.

It's a good thing she wants to go back to some of the places she
has performed and say thank you to her fans and give them a last
performance. Like she says the traveling is becoming too much
for her.

Thank you for sharing this additional information on our beloved
mother Queen. As always your committment to teaching and
inspiring our people is undeniable.

Zensi Miriam Makeba will always be loved by Afrikans worldwide.

Peace & Blessings!

[Jahness]

A spiritual experience
South African singer Miriam Makeba's last L.A. appearance (or is it?) is flowing with style and substance.

By Don Heckman
Special to The Times

October 3, 2005

Miriam Makeba has been called "Mama Africa" and the "Empress of African Song." She sang for President John F. Kennedy's birthday, testified before the United Nations about apartheid, married Black Panther Stokely Carmichael and spent decades in exile from her South African homeland.

No wonder her performances resonate with emotions reaching well beyond the music. And no wonder her fans reacted with a mixture of surprise, regret and admiration when Makeba announced, during a show last New Year's Eve in Zambia, that she would conclude the touring aspect of her career over the next year with a 14-month sequence of programs in 52 countries.

"I am 73 now," she said. "[Touring] is taxing on me. But as long as I'll have my voice," she added, "I'll keep on recording."

On Saturday night, Makeba made what will presumably be her final Los Angeles appearance at the West Los Angeles Church in a Musics of the World Celebration concert as part of the World Forum on Music. And the mood in the large crowd was predictably affecting.

"She's an institution," one listener said during the intermission before Makeba's arrival onstage. "It's hard to imagine not being able to see her again."

Others displayed their feelings with bursts of applause every time Makeba's name was mentioned amid a line of celebratory introductions from representatives of the World Forum and various government officials, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles).

"I can't believe how lucky we are," said a visitor from Santa Cruz who, with her companion, had become aware of the concert Saturday afternoon. "To get to hear her for the first time, and on this tour — incredible."

Makeba herself made no direct reference to her semiretirement. But her performance was invested with a rich mixture of elements including what appeared to be a need to express her still-powerful voice as well as poignant references to her South African roots.

Although Makeba seemed, at times, to suggest a physical weariness, she just as often moved with hip-swinging alacrity, especially during the spirited rendering of one of her best-known hits, "Pata Pata." If this was indeed her last Southland appearance, she offered it with style and substance, with the marvelously rich musicality that has been the foundation for her multilayered career.

And for those with hopeful visions of Makeba simply beginning the first in a series of Sarah Bernhardt-like farewell tours, there were the comments she made earlier in the week at a concert in Johannesburg in which, referring to her contemplated retirement, she said, "Do not pay too much attention to that."

The opening portion of the program featured two groups whose presence testified to the expanded interest in world music that Makeba was so instrumental in initiating.

The ensemble Africali included five musicians and three dancers-singers from various parts of Tanzania. Their diverse material, sung in a range of Tanzanian dialects, sizzled with dynamic rhythms, visually enhanced by spirited dancing and an emotional communicability that transcended boundaries and genres.

The Berlin Youth Jazz Orchestra took an entirely different path via a set that owed much to the orchestration style of Gil Evans.

The players, all 25 or younger, soloed and drove the ensemble passages with an enthusiasm and technical proficiency underscoring the status of jazz as a global musical language.

http://www.calendarlive.com/nightlif...,2544635.story

Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times