Results for "abdullah ibrahim"

Abdullah Ibrahim

Abdullah Ibrahim’s new solo program transcends category, combining the intimate and the universal in a unique way that is hinted at in its title. SENZO means “Ancestor” in both Chinese and Japanese. SENZO also echoes the name of Abdullah Ibrahim’s Sotho father, in whose language the word translates as “Creator”. Abdullah Ibrahim, South Africa’s most distinguished pianist and a world-respected master musician, was born in 1934 in Cape Town and baptized Adolph Johannes Brand. His early musical memories were of traditional African Khoi-san songs and the Christian hymns, gospel tunes and spirituals that he heard from his grandmother, who was pianist for the local African Methodist Episcopalian church, and his mother, who led the choir

Frank Kimbrough: Changing the Contexts, Keeping It Fresh

By WAYNE ZADE

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in September 2002. Frank Kimbrough is one of the most versatile and innovative pianists in jazz on the New York and national scenes. He has been the pianist in the Maria Schneider jazz orchestra and has recorded seven albums under his own ...

Enjoy Jazz 2020

By MARTIN LONGLEY

Enjoy Jazz Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany October 17-21, 2020 Enjoy Jazz spreads over many more weeks than most festivals. This German tri-city marathon usually presents at least one gig each evening, in either Heidelberg, Mannheim or Ludwigshafen, starting in early October, and continuing until mid-November. In 2020, the datesheet flowed smoothly for ...

Sarathy Korwar & Upaj Collective: Night Dreamer Direct-To-Disc Sessions

By CHRIS MAY

In her October 2020 interview with All About Jazz, baritone saxophonist, Collocutor bandleader, Afrobeat shaman and Upaj Collective founder member Tamar Osborn was asked to name six of her all-time favourite albums. One of them was Shakti's Natural Elements (Columbia, 1970), on which John McLaughlin plays a guitar customised to sound like a sitar. “To me, ...

Johanna Burnheart: Techno Jazz Shines A Light: New Directions In Music

By CHRIS MAY

A relatively new name on London's alternative jazz scene, the German-born violinist, vocalist and composer Johanna Burnheart has made a rapid ascent since leaving the city's Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2018. She has played on three of the scene's benchmark albums--spiritual-jazz band Maisha's There Is A Place (Brownswood, 2018), trombonist Rosie Turton's 5ive ...

The Word from Johannesburg, Part I: Nduduzo Makhathini

By KARL ACKERMANN

In 1919, the Pasadena Evening Post said: “the friends of Mr. Whiteman have with much enthusiasm bestowed the title of “King of Jazz" upon him." While Paul Whiteman was heavily criticized for wearing the crown, it was not one that was self-attributed or with which he felt completely comfortable. But Whiteman was a brilliant marketer and ...

Matt Wilson Quartet: Hug!

By JEROME WILSON

A hug is something which is a distant memory for most of us these days. The warm and friendly vibes of this new Matt Wilson album could be thought of as a virtual hug, full of smile-inducing swing and raffish humor. Wilson's partners on this excursion are some of his usual cohorts, saxophonist Jeff ...

Matt Wilson: Hug!

By JACK BOWERS

While there are a number of red-letter moments on drummer Matt Wilson's latest album, Hug!, and others that are rather less so, the earnestness is high throughout as everyone in Wilson's seasoned quartet does his best to ensure its success. That success, however, rests in part on the music itself, and therein lies the down side. ...

Matt Wilson Quartet: Hug!

By DAN MCCLENAGHAN

Drummer Matt Wilson's quartet opens Hug! with Gene Ammons' “The One Before This." Saxophonist Ammons often used the tune as a showcase for tenor battles with fellow sax man Sonny Stitt. Wilson and company--featuring cornetist Kirk Knuffke, sax man Jeff Lederer and bassist Chris Lightcap--lay the sound down like a party. And this quartet parties hard. ...

Erroll Garner: Erroll Garner Plays Gershwin & Kern

By CHRIS MAY

The British newspaper The Times once nailed Abdullah Ibrahim's appeal thus: “There are few musicians in jazz who can make you feel that essentially all is right in the world." The late Erroll Garner is another pianist whose music could be similarly described. You might argue that Ibrahim's task is harder, because much of his work ...