Jazz Articles about Abdullah Ibrahim

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South Africa: Two Abdullah Ibrahim Reissues

by AAJ Staff
April 19, 2004

Probably the most important member of South Africa's jazz elite, pianist Abdullah Ibrahim certainly wasted no time forging alliances after his 1962 departure from his homeland. Although he hit it off right away with Duke Ellington, for example, resulting in the 1963 date Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio , he has always made a point of keeping his own nuclei intact and often bereft of outright star power. (Note: Dollar Brand was his name until he converted to ...

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Abdullah Ibrahim Trio: Cape Town Revisited

by Jim Santella
April 10, 2004

This hour of sweet music composed by Abdullah Ibrahim includes dedicatory ballads, festive celebrations, and impressions of his homeland. With his “Cape Town to Congo Square” in three movements, he’s documented the bridge between his birthplace and New Orleans. Common threads enable this ambassador of modern jazz to spread the word about this music all over the world. In effect, he’s carrying with him the memory of Duke Ellington’s creations.

As fiery South African trumpeter Feya Faku ...

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Abdullah Ibrahim: African Magic

by Jim Santella
March 3, 2003

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 ...

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Abdullah Ibrahim: African Magic

by AAJ Staff
February 12, 2003

It's very easy to call attention by playing fast or flashy. Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim does not believe in any of that. When he approaches the keyboard, he brings a sense of balance and poise that make the notes he plays sound clear and natural. That's not to say he lacks the ability to cook up drama and energy; he just does so in an understated way that somehow communicates the feeling all that much more effectively.

While Ibrahim's ...

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Abdullah Ibrahim: African Magic

by Mark Corroto
February 1, 2003

In today’s jazz world with all of its wunderkind piano prodigies, the simplicity of South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim’s approach to the piano is his genius. He can say more with two notes of his left hand than an entire room of Julliard and Berklee graduates can express with both paws.

In his fiftieth year playing music, the former Dollar Brand recorded this 25-track suite of music at the Jazz Across The Border Festival in Berlin 2001. This ...

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Abdullah Ibrahim: Best of Abdullah Ibrahim

by Javier AQ Ortiz
April 12, 2002

Let us forget about the obvious for just a second and not dwell on who is Abdullah Ibrahim, his storied background and development, or even the importance of this compilation of material mostly culled from recorded work in South Africa. Anthology nonetheless, this is a super jazz album that stands on its own as a fascinating sketch of a truly significant global jazz figure.

Assuming a readership that might not be familiarized with Ibrahim’s music, one could simply venture that ...

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Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand): Anatomy of a South African Village / Ekapa Lodumo

by C. Michael Bailey
April 12, 2002

The best the world has to offer...

It is in honor of the anniversary of free elections in South Africa that these reviews were commissioned. This article is dedicated to Mr. Abdullah Ibrahim and Mr. Nelson Mandela.

Abdullah Ibrahim, aka Dollar Brand, born Adolph Johannes Brand, was born in Cape Town South Africa in 1934. He is credited with taking part in the first jazz recording session in South Africa, a date where he joined American pianist John Mohegan for ...