Jazz Articles about Abdullah Ibrahim

About Abdullah Ibrahim

Radio & Podcasts

Tribute to Abdullah Ibrahim aka Dollar Brand; RIP Walt Parazaider; New Music From Audrey Ochoa, Chris Potter, and Others

by David W. Daniels
June 23, 2026

In addition to the tribute to Abdullah Ibrahim and music from the artists mentioned in the title, the show includes recently released music from Helen Sung, Dawn Clement, Chris Hazelton, and others. Birthday recognition for Erroll Garner, Tom Harrell, Marcus Miller, and more.Playlist Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya “Duke 88" from African River (Enja) 00:00 Abdullah Ibrahim aka Dollar Brand “Mannenberg (Revisited)" from Water From An Ancient Well (Blackhawk) 14:22 Steve Gadd “The Mountain" from Gadditude (BFM Jazz) 20:25 ...

Big Band in the Sky

Abdullah Ibrahim: 1934–2026

by Kofi Adjepong-Boateng
June 18, 2026

Abdullah Ibrahim , the South African pianist, composer and bandleader, died in Bavaria, Germany, on 15 June 2026. He was born Adolph Johannes Brand in Cape Town on 9 October 1934. Frail but undimmed, Ibrahim last performed on 27 March at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, in the city that made him. He grew up around District Six, the inner-city quarter--mixed, Muslim, musical--that the apartheid state would later try to erase. As a boy he ...

African Jazz

The Life and Times of South African Jazz

by Philip Songa
June 16, 2026

This article was first published on All About Jazz in January 2004. South Africa has always been a little different from other countries on the African continent. That uniqueness has extended in many directions, but South Africa (SA) is uniquely remembered in the world as the only country to have suffered from apartheid. Despite, and some might say because of, those hard times the country's music industry flourished like no other in Africa. During the dark days, oftentimes ...

Live Review

The Abdullah Ibrahim Trio at 92NY

by Paul Reynolds
November 22, 2024

The Abdullah Ibrahim Trio 92NY New York, NY November 18, 2024 South Africa arguably offers the headiest jazz brew found beyond the borders of the U.S. And since the 2018 death of trumpeter Hugh Masekela, the undisputed elder statesman of the nation's jazz has been Masekela's former '50s Johannesburg band mate, Abdullah Ibrahim. In a career that spans more than 70 years, the pianist's music has epitomized the unique hodgepodge that is the ...

Radio & Podcasts

Abdullah Ibrahim, McCoy Mrubata, Nduduzo Makhathini, Steve Dyer & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
May 30, 2024

Enjoy a set spotlighting fascinating South African projects, their new albums which do a really great job at showing both where these artists are coming from and how they experiment with their roots in unconventional ways. Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Spirits Rejoice “Emakhaya" Spirits Rejoice! [Reissue] (Frederiksberg) 0:16 Host talks 6:34 McCoy Mrubata & Siyabulela “Oh Yhini--For Winston Ngozi" Lullaby for Khayoyo (AfricArise/Ropeadope) 8:17 Host ...

Live Review

Spoleto Festival USA 2023

by Perry Tannenbaum
July 22, 2023

Spoleto Festival USA Queen Street Playhouse, Sottile Theatre, TD Arena Charleston, SC May 26 to June 11, 2023 Respect for the elders in the jazz lineup of this year's Spoleto Festival USA jazz was gracefully counterbalanced by a hearty welcome to newer generations. It only felt fleetingly like the closing of the book on a previous era when South Africa's iconic pianist-composer Abdullah Ibrahim returned to Charleston, one of the last--if not the very last--headliners ...

Live Review

Vicenza Jazz 2023

by Libero Farnè
May 26, 2023

Vicenza Jazz 2023--New Conversations Varie sedi 10--20.5.2023 Almeno due sono state le idee portanti che hanno caratterizzato la ventisettesima edizione di Vicenza Jazz--New Conversations. Innanzi tutto, come ha spesso ripetuto il direttore artistico Riccardo Brazzale nel presentare i concerti, più che in passato si è voluto puntare lo sguardo su proposte rappresentative della ricerca jazzistica più attuale, cogliendo la vitalità di un linguaggio in continua evoluzione, basato su una fertile ibridazione di culture, tendenze, generi ...