Sam Tshabalala

Bio:

Sam Tshabalala counts as one of the most important South African composers. His career began at the end of the 70s with the Malopoets, whose performances aroused enthousiasm both in their homeland and in France and America. During a European tour in 1989, Sam Tshabalala decided to stay in exile in Paris, where in 1993, together with other top musicians from the African music scene, he founded his band Sabeka.

In its first year, the band was invited to perform in Paris to welcome Nelson Mandela. There followed many appearances and tours. In 1997, the first performance in Germany proved a success : one of their concerts at Nurenberg was broadcasted by Bavarian Radio (BR). In 1998, WDR Television broadcasted Tshabalala's musical contribution live from a matinee at the Cologne Philharmonie. He featured in several TV shows and perfomed several concerts on the Expo 2000 in Hannover and "Africa at the Opera" in Dresden.

Sam has a trio, quartet, and big band "Sabeka". The quartet was invited to several Womad festival in 2006 and 2007. Peter Gabriel invited Sam and fellow musician Patrick Bebey to launch the new venue, they performed before Billy Cobham's speech.

Sam also contributed in other projects over the years : recording and writing lyrics for different artists, working with french song writers and arrangers (Yvan Cassar, Carolin Petit...), participating in documentaries and films. In 2008, Tshabalala was asked to write lyrics for the Jazzrock group "Sixun", he was then invited to sing on stage with the band to launch the promotion tour.

Sam Tshabalala and SABEKA main concerts :

"The Soul of Afrika" 2002 Winterthur (Switzerland)
"Afrika Festival 2003" Osnabruck (Germany), before Lady Smith Black Mambazo
"Afrika Live" 2004 Frankfurt (Germany)
"Lugano Jazz Festival" 2005, first part of Joe Zawinul, (Italy)
"Roots" 2007, Reggio Calabria (Italy)
Rugby World Cup 2007, Noisy le Sec (France)
"Ti Piment Festival" 2008, Nancy (France)

Acoustic QUARTET main concerts:

Womad 2006: Caceres (Spain), Singapour (Singapour), Taormina (Sicily)
Womad 2007: Charlton Park (England) and Las Palmas (Canary Islands)
African Music Festival Zagora 2007 (Marocco)
Inauguration of the "Ecole Nelson Mandela" 2008 (France)
Festival Culturel Panafrican 2009 (Algeria)

WORKS :

- "Malopoets"Published Audio,1984 EMI
- "Sun City - Artists Against Apartheid", Published Audio,1985 (Little Stevens project)
- "Life is for Living" (Malopoets)Published Audio,1988, Virgin
- "Khanyisa" Sabeka,Published Audio,1996
- "Communication" Sabeka. Produced by Patrick Bebey,Published Audio,2001 Griot/Heaven and Earth
- "Meadowlands" (acoustic) Tropical Music, Distributed by Sony BMG in Germany, 2005

Sa carrière a débuté en 1978 avec les MALOPOETS. Ce groupe a créé beaucoup d’émoi en Afrique du Sud. Ils ont enregistré plusieurs albums chez Virgin, EMI, et Gallo. Ils furent le premier groupe sud-africain à donner un spectacle au Market Theatre de Johannesburg. Pendant une tournée aux Etats-Unis, ils ont partagé la scène avec King Sunny Ade et les Neville Brothers. Sam Vit en exile en France depuis 1984. EN 1993, il fonde le groupe Sabeka, la même année, il se produit pour NELSON MANDELA…

Dans son quartet acoustique, Sam est accompagné par Sylvia Laubé (chant), Jacques Djeyim (guitare, chant) et Patrick Bebey (percussions, piano, chant).

Sylvia Laubé a tourné avec des artistes tels que Rokia Traoré, Papa Wemba, Michel Fugain.

Jacques Djeyim est originaire du Cameroun. Sa carrière de musicien l’a amené à travailler avec Les Wailers, Manu Dibango, Papa Wemba, Princesse Erika, Busi Mhlongo, Mbamina…

Patrick Bebey a collaboré avec Miriam Makeba, Mory Kanté, CharlElie Couture, Papa Wemba, Roy Ayers, John Williams…

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Influences:

Sounds Like:

Communication , Heaven & Earth Heaven & Earth, 2000

Meadowlands , Tropical Music Mosaic Music, 2005

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