By 1959, Miriam Makeba was a star in her homeland of South Africa for her singing, first with the Manhattan Brothers, her own group, the Skylarks, who sang a mix of jazz and folk music, touring the country with Alf Herbert's African Jazz & Variety show and finally as the lead in a jazz opera, King Kong. At the height of her popularity she went to Europe and met Harry Belafonte who convinced her to come to the U.S. In New York she played the big venues of the folk scare era and became nationally known after her appearances on the Steve Allen show. She had two huge hits, "The Click Song" and "Pata Pata." Always a woman of conscience she testified before the U.N. about apartheid and was banned from her homeland for more than thirty years. Sangoma is a tribute to her mother who was a traditional mystical healer, a sangoma. On this beautiful recording, each song was created by multi-tracking Miriam's voice to create a choir and then adding touches of percussion, additional vocalists, and occasionally keyboards. The results are an audio experience of the spirit of Africa.