Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba - An Evening With Belafonte & Makeba (1965)

Originally posted in Februar 2011:

Tomorrow the Berlinale film festival 2011 will begin. With a litte bit of luck i will have the chance to view screenings of documentarys about the life and work of Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba.

Fortyfive years have passed since Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba first educated their adoring fans about life in South Africa under apartheid, revealing through songs sung entirely in Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, and Swahili what life was like for black South Africans. Much has changed since then, with South Africa now governed by the black majority, but the messages and the music from the sixties live on in this wonderful collaboration, which recognizes universal hopes and dreams and reflects the longings of all people for freedom. Passionate and controlled, Belafonte and Makeba transcend the "protest movement" of the sixties with an album which is as relevant today as it was when it was recorded and performed around the world a generation ago.
"An Evening wth Belafonte & Makeba" was released in 1965 on RCA Victor. Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba sing together on only two tracks here ("Train Song" and "Cannon"), splitting the vocals on the other tracks, often backed by a small choir.

While the title suggests a concert setting, this is actually a marvelous studio album of South African songs, and the bright melodies and careful arrangements are wonderfully recorded, with both Belafonte and Makeba at the top of their game.

Play this on a gray day and watch everything brighten up immediately.

Tracklist:
1. Train song - Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba
2. In the land of Zulus - Miriam Makeba
3. Hush, hush - Harry Belafonte
4. To those we love - Miriam Makeba
5. Give us our land - Harry Belafonte
6. Beware, verwoerd! - Miriam Makeba
7. Gone are my children - Harry Belafonte
8. Hurry, mama, hurry! - Miriam Makeba
9. My angel - Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba
10. Cannon - Miriam Makeba
11. Lullaby - Harry Belafonte
12. Show me the way, my brother - Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba - An Evening With Belafonte & Makeba (1965)
(320 kbps, cover art included)