Jazz Articles about Abdullah Ibrahim

About Abdullah Ibrahim

Live Review

Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya at the Michigan Theater

by C. Andrew Hovan
October 30, 2015

Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya Michigan Theater University Musical Society 22nd Annual Jazz Series Ann Arbor, Michigan October 21, 2015 The opportunities to hear some of the remaining jazz legends outside of their home environs are becoming increasingly rare these days. In the case of pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, it is downright miraculous that this international icon left his home in Cape Town to make a rare stateside appearance. Add to that the fact that he ...

Album Review

Abdullah Ibrahim: The Song Is My Story

Read "The Song Is My Story" reviewed by Maurizio Zerbo

by Maurizio Zerbo
September 22, 2015

Abdullah Ibrahim festeggia i suoi ottanta anni come meglio non si poteva, con questa aforistica prova discografica. Tratti per lo più dal suo repertorio più noto tra gli anni '60 e '70, i brani privilegiano la dimensione apollinea e melodica, legata alla forma-canzone. Trovandoci di fronte ad un musicista di classe eccelsa, va da sé che i brani riproposti costituiscano uno sviluppo e non una sterile rivisitazione del passato. Segue ad ogni tema una breve improvvisazione che lascia spazio al ...

Album Review

Abdullah Ibrahim: The Song Is My Story

Read "The Song Is My Story" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
March 6, 2015

Blessed is the artist who has reached the zenith of his craft, and endured to reap the rewards, becoming the wise elder reflecting upon a lifetime of creative accomplishment. Having left an impressive body of work, he still greets the dawn with exuberance and optimism. Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim is such an artist. As a consummate and dedicated musician, he blazed a trail from the tumultuous townships of Capetown, South Africa to the premier concert halls of the world, and remains ...

Live Review

South Africa at the South Bank

by Duncan Heining
November 26, 2014

The Dedication Orchestra and Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya The South Bank Centre London Jazz Festival November 15, 2014 The London Jazz Festival is now in its twenty-second year. It's a vast, sprawling event and its venues criss-cross a city that never quite seems to end, whilst its musical styles span the globe from the USA to Australia and from South Africa to Norway. Saturday 15th November saw South Africa in two distinctly different guises ...

Live Review

Abdullah Ibrahim at Zankel Hall

by Dan Bilawsky
October 22, 2014

Abdullah Ibrahim Zankel Hall Ubuntu: Music And Arts Of South Africa New York, NY October 17, 2014 Ubuntu. It's one little six-letter word that carries a world of meaning within its frame. The term itself, roughly translated to mean “I am because you are," took root as a philosophy for black youth liberation in the '40s and '50s, but over time, ubuntu has taken on a life beyond a specific movement. It's a ...

Album Review

Abdullah Ibrahim: Mukashi (Once upon a time)

Read "Mukashi (Once upon a time)" reviewed by Gabriel Medina Arenas

by Gabriel Medina Arenas
April 17, 2014

Japan and South Africa were never so close. The acclaimed pianist and flautist Abdullah Ibrahim fused the Asian zen calmness with stories and inspiration from his native homeland in his latest album Mukashi. Mukashi translates in Japanese as “Once upon a time" is a very appropriate title considering Ibrahim's impressive storytelling skills, as well as the visual evocations of the record. “Krotoa" is one of the most interesting tracks of the album and it is split ...

Album Review

Abdullah Ibrahim: Mukashi Once Upon a Time

Read "Mukashi Once Upon a Time" reviewed by Maurizio Zerbo

by Maurizio Zerbo
March 10, 2014

Abdullah Ibrahim apre la sua musica verso gli orizzonti dell'Oriente, proiettandola in qualche traccia verso i suoni tradizionali del Giappone. Non è una scelta estetizzante, ma ben rispondente alla curiosità di un uomo che da 50 anni pratica le arti marziali e le filosofie orientali. Come ben dimostra la magnifica traccia finale del CD, i colori poliritmici della sua tradizione vengono messi da parte in favore di un jazz da camera raffinato ed introspettivo. Il pianoforte resta il punto focale ...