Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Abdullah Ibrahim: African Magic

172

Abdullah Ibrahim: African Magic

By

View read count
Abdullah Ibrahim: African Magic
Germany’s Jazz Across The Border Festival had been exploring the effect world cultures have on jazz for more than a decade. That idea remains a topic near and dear to our hearts. In his suite-like concert of impressions, Abdullah Ibrahim infuses South American samba, European bolero and habanera, Asian folk melodies, South African anthems, and Duke Ellington jazz. His trio sparkles with the knowledge that art can pay homage to memorable history and myriad geography, with politics taking a seat at the back of the bus.

Ibrahim’s swinging, percussive style gets down to the core of the matter. Spare in density, his compositions rely on essential impressions to belie meaning. He feels no need to supply more notes than necessary. Seamless, with each composition merging into the next, the pianist and his rhythm mates draw a consistent line of soul-stirring jazz. His original “Eleventh Hour” offers a quiet embrace in which to quell one’s fears. “Blue Bolero,” whose threads interweave and unify the concert, moves solemnly through a desolate landscape, where faces are long and eyes stare blankly.

“Moten Swing” introduces a quirky homage to John Coltrane, where the unexpected is expected. Other originals honor Ibrahim’s countrymen and their varied cultural differences. Much of the session takes on an emotional Gospel appeal. Recommended, African Magic does wonders for the listener’s heart and soul.

Track Listing

Blue Bolero (fragment 1); Third Line Samba; Blue Bolero (Fragment 2); Blues For A Hip King; District Six; Tuang Guru; Blue Bolero (Fragment 3); Joan

Personnel

Abdullah Ibrahim

Album information

Title: African Magic | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Enja Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Abdullah Ibrahim Concerts

Oct 3 Fri
Oct 4 Sat

Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.