South Africa's newest jazz diva, Simphiwe Dana, is getting royal treatment for her debut concert here, performing in the Prague Castle's ornate Spanish Hall.

Though Dana's debut album, Zandisle, won Best Newcomer and Best Jazz Vocal Album at the South African Music Awards in 2005, she describes her music as "modern African soul," which makes her a closer musical descendent of Miriam Makeba, South Africa's best-known diva, than more traditional jazz artists like Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim.

Dana's taste in modern fashion and particularly her long, conic hats transform this petite 26-year-old woman into a space-age African princess. She makes herself even more exotic by singing in her native tongue, Xhosa, a language of the rural Eastern Cape, where she lived until just a few years ago, when she moved to Johannesburg.

In a recent interview with the Mail & Guardian, Dana explained her decision to sing in Xhosa this way: "I recorded the album in Xhosa, not to show off the fact that I could. I did it for me to feel complete."

But eventually Dana regained her self-esteem — and then some. Now she is convinced that singing in Xhosa is important for her to reclaim her African identity. "African music, just like Spanish or Mexican music or anything else, has its own identity," she says. "Why would we want to deny that?"

For audiences, it's not necessary to understand Dana's language or lyrics. Her voice alone has a lulling effect, which is a testament to the universality of music when it is performed at its most heartfelt and personal level.

Dana is a young mother with two daughters, and the title track to Zandisle is a beautiful song written specifically for one of her daughters. The word zandisle means "the one who sets precedent to succeed," and for Dana this song imparts a special message to her daughter, encouraging her to follow her dreams to succeed in life.

For her appearance at Prague Castle, Dana will backed by three female vocalists, along with keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. The music weaves through a new hybrid of London-influenced acid jazz, driving electro-jazz and a suave nu-jazz lounge groove, blended with a dash of classic jazz singers like Sarah Vaughn. There are also touches of Miriam Makeba's powerful Afro-soul sound, traditional Xhosa music, a bit of reggae and a sensual version of South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo.