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Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934), previously known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cape Town, ranging from traditional African songs to the gospel music of the AME Church and , to more modern jazz and other Western styles. Ibrahim is considered the leading figure in the subgenre of Cape jazz. Within jazz, his music particularly reflects the influence of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. He is known especially for "Mannenberg", a jazz piece that became a notable anti-apartheid anthem.
During the apartheid era in the 1960s, Ibrahim moved to New York City and, apart from a brief return to South Africa in the 1970s, remained in exile until the early 1990s. Over the decades, he has toured the world extensively, appearing at major venues either as a solo artist or playing with other renowned musicians, including Max Roach, Carlos Ward and Randy Weston, as well as collaborating with classical orchestras in Europe.
With his wife, the jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin, Ibrahim is father to two children, including the New York underground rapper Jean Grae.
In 1959 and 1960, Ibrahim played with the Jazz Epistles group in Sophiatown, alongside saxophonists Kippie Moeketsi and Mackay Davashe, trumpeter Hugh Masekela, trombonist Jonas Gwangwa (who were all in the orchestra of the musical King Kong that opened in Johannesburg in February 1959), "King Kong, the first All African Jazz Opera", Soul Safari, 10 August 2009. .In the memoir King Kong - Our Knot of Time and Music: A personal memoir of South Africa's legendary musical, by lyricist Pat Williams (London: Portobello Books, 2017), Ibrahim is quoted as saying about the show: "In spite of what everyone says, I had nothing to do with it." bassist Johnny Gertze and drummer Makaya Ntshoko; in January 1960, the six musicians went into the Gallo studio and recorded the first full-length jazz LP by Black South African musicians, Jazz Epistle Verse One,Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather and Brian Priestley (3rd edn, 2004). The Rough Guide to Jazz, London: Rough Guides Ltd, pp. 385–87. .Odidi, Billie, "The South African with a brilliant jazz touch", Africa Review, 22 November 2011. . with 500 copies being produced.Mitter, Siddhartha, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Jazz Epistles", The Village Voice, 26 April 2017. [6]. Although the group avoided explicitly political activity, the apartheid government was suspicious of it and other jazz groups, and targeted them heavily during the increase in state repression following the Sharpeville massacre in March 1960, and eventually, the Jazz Epistles broke up.
Ibrahim and Benjamin moved to New York in 1965 and that year he played at the Newport Jazz Festival, followed by a first tour through the US; in 1966 Ibrahim substituted for Duke Ellington on five dates, leading the Duke Ellington Orchestra. "Ibrahim, Abdullah (Dollar Brand) (South Africa)", music.org.za. . In 1967, a Rockefeller Foundation grant enabled him to study at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. While in the US he interacted with many progressive musicians, among them Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Cecil Taylor and Archie Shepp. As the Black Power movement developed in the 1960s and 1970s, it influenced a number of Ibrahim's friends and collaborators, who began to see their music as a form of cultural nationalism. Ibrahim in turn began to incorporate African elements into his jazz.
He met Rashid Vally at the latter's Kohinoor record shop in Johannesburg in the early 1970s, and Vally produced two of Ibrahim's albums in the following years. The pair produced a third album in 1974, titled Underground in Africa, in which Ibrahim abandoned his financially unsuccessful folk-infused jazz of the previous albums. Instead, the new album was a fusion of jazz, rock music, and South Africa popular music, and sold well. While recording Underground, Ibrahim collaborated with Oswietie, a local band of which Robbie Jansen and Basil Coetzee were saxophonists, and who played a large role in creating the album's fusion style. After the success of Underground, Ibrahim asked Coetzee to bring together a supporting band for his next recording: the group Coetzee put together included Jansen, as well as others who had not worked on Underground. The composition "Mannenberg" was recorded in June 1974 during one of Ibrahim's visits back to South Africa, in a studio in Cape Town, and was produced by Rashid Vally. The track was recorded in one take during a period of collective improvisation. The piece was inspired by the Cape Flats township where many of those forcibly removed from District Six were sent.Maya Jaggi, "The sound of freedom", The Guardian, 8 December 2001. Retrieved 13 August 2014. .
The recordings made with Jansen and Coetzee, including "Mannenberg" (renamed "Capetown Fringe" in its US release), "Black Lightning"; "African Herbs"; and "Soweto Is Where It Is At" – sounds that mirrored and spoke of the defiance in the streets and townships of South Africa – gave impetus to the genre of music known as "Cape Jazz." "Mannenberg" came to be considered "the unofficial national anthem" of South Africa, and the theme tune of the anti-apartheid movement. "Musical Interlude: Abdullah Ibrahim's Mannenberg (Is Where It's Happening)", Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal. .Schiendorfer, Andreas, "Abdullah Ibrahim – Musician with Political Impact", Credit Suisse, 23 February 2010. .Hewett, Ivam, "Abdullah Ibrahim interview: 'I don't like the word jazz'", The Telegraph, 14 November 2017. Saxophonist and flautist Carlos Ward was Ibrahim's sideman in duets during the early 1980s. A few years after the release of "Mannenberg" (released on Brand's Mannenberg ~ 'Is Where It's Happening' album in 1974), South African police fired upon protesting children during the Soweto Uprising that began on 16 June 1976; this event led Ibrahim and Benjamin to publicly express support for the African National Congress, which was still banned at the time.
Soon returning to the US and settling in New York, Ibrahim and Sathima founded the record company Ekapa (meaning "Cape Town" in Xhosa language) in 1981.
Starting in 1983, Ibrahim led a group called Ekaya (which translates as "home"), as well as various trios, occasional big bands and other special projects. "Abdullah Ibrahim", 100 Jazz profiles, BBC Radio 3. [13].
On 25 November 1989, he made an extended appearance in the British Channel 4 television discussion series After Dark alongside Zoë Wicomb, Donald Woods, Shula Marks and others. Ibrahim also took part in the 2002 documentary , where he and others recalled the days of apartheid; the film's subtitle derives from observations made by Ibrahim.Scott, A. O., "FILM REVIEW; The Sounds and Rhythms That Helped Bring Down Apartheid", The New York Times, 19 February 2003. .
Ibrahim is the subject of the documentaries A Brother with Perfect Timing (1987) and A Struggle for Love (2005, directed by Ciro Cappellari).
In 1997, Ibrahim collaborated on a tour with drummer Max Roach, and the following year undertook a world tour with the Munich Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.Harris, Craig, "Abdullah Ibrahim", AllMusic. .
In 1999, he founded the "M7" academy for South African musicians in Cape Town and was the initiator of the Cape Town Jazz Orchestra, an 18-piece big band launched in September 2006. "Ibrahim returns to Joburg", Johannesburg official website, 13 January 2012. . "Launch of the Cape Town Jazz Orchestra", Department of Arts and Culture, Republic of South Africa, 23 August 2006. .Belcher-Van der Berg, Renée,
Ibrahim continues to perform internationally, mainly in Europe, and with occasional shows in North America.Lucia, Christine, "Abdullah Ibrahim: South Africa’s master pianist is going on a world tour at 90", The Conversation, 13 March 2024. Reviewing his 2008 concert at London's Barbican Centre – a "monumental" show with the BBC Big Band, featuring vocalists Ian Shaw and Cleveland Watkiss – John Fordham of The Guardian referred to "Ibrahim's elder-statesman status as the African Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk combined (and his role as an educator and political campaigner)".Fordham, John, "Abdullah Ibrahim", The Guardian, 19 May 2008. .
In 2016, at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, Ibrahim and Hugh Masekela performed together for the first time in 60 years, reuniting the Jazz Epistles in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the historic 16 June 1976 Soweto uprising.Podbrey, Gwen, "Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim to perform on one stage", Destinyman.com, 4 May 2016. . "Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya and Hugh Masekela: A Tribute to Jazz Epistles", News, Abdullah Ibrahim website, 13 May 2016. . "Hugh Masekela & Abdullah Ibrahim perform a tribute to the Jazz Epistles in JHB", Black Major, 15 June 2016. .
Reviewing Ibrahim's July 2023 appearance with bassist Noah Jackson and flautist Cleave Guyton at the Barbican Centre, Kevin Le Gendre wrote: "Ibrahim's enduring love of the founding fathers of modern jazz is made clear from the outset as the trio starts with rhapsodic versions of two timeless anthems, Ellington's 'In A Sentimental Mood' and Coltrane's 'Giant Steps', while later on we are treated to a spirited take on Monk's 'Skippy'. But in the interim it is Ibrahim’s originals that take pride of place, showing how, since the '60s, he has been creating standards of his own that vividly capture the poised dignity of African culture and customs."
In 2009, for his solo piano album Senzo he received the "Best Male Artist" award at the 15th Annual MTN South African Music Awards. "And the winners are...", The South African, 11 May 2009. .Coetzer, Diane,
In 2009, the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, conferred on Ibrahim an Honorary Doctorate of Music. "Wits honours Abdullah Ibrahim", Artslink.co.za, 6 May 2009. . Also in 2009, he was awarded South Africa's national honour the Order of Ikhamanga (Silver), "For his excellent contribution to the arts, putting South Africa on the international map and his fight against racism and apartheid." "National Orders Recipients 2009", South African History Online. .
In July 2017, Ibrahim was honoured with the German Jazz Trophy. "German Jazz Trophy", News, Abdullah Ibrahim website, 17 May 2017. . "Be Jazz Be open", Outletcity Meets Jazzopen, July 2017. .
In July 2018, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced Abdullah Ibrahim as one of four recipients of the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships, to be celebrated in a concert on 15 April 2019 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Awarded in recognition of lifetime achievement, the honor is bestowed on individuals who have made significant contributions to the art form, the other 2019 recipients being Bob Dorough, Maria Schneider, and Stanley Crouch. "National Endowment for the Arts Announces Newest Recipients of Nation's Highest Honor in Jazz", National Endowment for the Arts, News, 11 July 2018. .Chinen, Nate, "Meet The NEA's 2019 Jazz Masters: Dorough, Ibrahim, Schneider And Crouch", NPR Music, 11 July 2018.
Film and television work
Ibrahim has written the soundtracks for a number of films, including Chocolat (1988), and No Fear, No Die (1990).
Post-apartheid
Ibrahim has worked as a solo performer, typically in unbroken concerts that echo the unstoppable impetus of the old marabi performers, classical impressionists and snatches of his musical idols – Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Fats Waller. He also performs frequently with trios and quartets and larger orchestral units. Since his return to South Africa in the early 1990s, he has been feted with symphony orchestra performances, one of which was in honour of Nelson Mandela's 1994 inauguration as president. Mandela reportedly referred to him as "our Mozart".Scheinin, Richard, "Abdullah Ibrahim: A Life in Song", SF Jazz, 1 April 2016. .
[http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/2006/09/18/SK/8/fliekNacholibre.html "Kaapstadse Jazzorkes skop belowend af"], ''Die Burger'', 18 September 2006. .
Awards
In 2007, Ibrahim was presented with the South African Music Lifetime Achievement Award, given by the Recording Industry of South Africa, in a ceremony at the Sun City Superbowl.Molele, Charles, "Afro-jazz singer wins big with four awards", Sunday Times, 15 April 2007. Via Press Reader. .Valentyn, Christo, "2007 South African Music Awards Winners", Mambaonline, 16 April 2007. .
[http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/global/1271021/lira-wins-big-at-south-african-music-awards "Lira Wins Big At South African Music Awards"], ''Billboard'', 5 May 2009. .
Discography
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.
As leader/co-leader
1960 Jazz Epistle Verse 1 Continental As The Jazz Epistles; sextet, with Kippie Moeketsi (alto sax), Jonas Gwangwa (trombone), Hugh Masekela (trumpet), Johnny Gertze (bass), Makaya Ntshoko (drums) 1960 Dollar Brand Plays Sphere Jazz Continental Trio, with Johnny Gertze (bass), Makaya Ntshoko (drums) 1963 Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio Reprise Trio, with Johnny Gertze (bass), Makaya Ntshoko (drums) 1965 Reflections Black Lion Solo piano; also released as This Is Dollar Brand 1965 Round Midnight at the Montmartre Black Lion Most tracks trio, with Johnny Gertze (bass), Makaya Ntshoko (drums); two tracks solo piano 1965 The Dream Freedom Records Trio 1965 Anatomy of a South African Village Black Lion Trio, with Johnny Gertze (bass), Makaya Ntshoko (drums) 1968 The Dream Jazz Music Yesterday Trio, with Johnny Gertze (bass), Makaya Ntshoko (drums) 1968 Hamba Khale! Togetherness With Gato Barbieri; reissued as Confluence 1969 African Sketchbook Enja Records Most tracks solo piano; one track solo flute 1969 African Piano JAPO Records Solo piano; in concert; released 1973 1970 African Sun Spectator 1971 Peace 1971 Dollar Brand Trio with Kippie Moketsi 1972 Ancient Africa JAPO Records Mostly solo piano; one part solo flute; in concert; released 1974 1973 African Portraits Sackville Solo piano 1973 Sangoma Sackville Solo piano 1973 Memories Philips Records Solo piano 1973 African Space Program Enja Records With Hamiet Bluiett (baritone sax), Roland Alexander (tenor sax, harmonica), John Stubblefield (tenor sax), Sonny Fortune and Carlos Ward (alto sax, flute), Cecil Bridgewater, Enrico Rava and Charles Sullivan (trumpet), Kiani Zawadi (trombone), Cecil McBee (bass), Roy Brooks (percussion) 1973 Ode to Duke Ellington West Wind Solo piano 1973 Good News from Africa Enja Records Duo, with Johnny Dyani (bass, bells) 1973 Boswell Concert 1973 Colomba With Bea Benjamin 1974 African Breeze East Wind Solo piano 1974 Underground in Africa 1974 Mannenberg – "Is Where It's Happening" The Sun Quintet with Basil Coetzee (tenor sax), Robbie Jansen (alto sax and flute), Paul Michaels (bass), Monty Weber (drums) - Reissued as Capetown Fringe by Chiaroscuro 1975 African Herbs The Sun one track trio, other two septet - Reissued as Soweto By Chiaroscuro 1976 Banyana – Children of Africa Enja Records Trio with Cecil McBee (bass) & Roy Brooks (drums); Ibrahim plays soprano sax and sings on one track 1976 Black Lightning Chiaroscuro With Basil Mannenberg Coetzee (tenor sax), others 1977 The Journey Chiaroscuro With Don Cherry (trumpet), Carlos Ward (alto sax), Talib Rhynie (alto sax, oboe), Hamiet Blueitt (baritone sax, clarinet), Johnny Dyani (bass), Ed Blackwell and Roy Brooks (drums), John Betsch and Claude Jones (percussion) 1977 Streams of Consciousness Baystate Duo, with Max Roach (drums) 1977 African Rhythm 1978 Anthem for the New Nations Denon Records Solo piano 1978 Duet Denon Records Duo, with Archie Shepp (tenor sax, alto sax, soprano sax) 1978 Autobiography Plainisphare Solo piano; in concert 1978 Nisa African Violets 1979 Echoes from Africa Enja Records Duo, with Johnny Dyani (bass) 1979 African Marketplace Elektra With 12-piece band 1979 Africa – Tears and Laughter Enja Records Quartet, with Talib Qadr (alto sax, soprano sax), Greg Brown (bass), John Betsch (drums); Ibrahim is also on vocals and soprano sax 1980 Dollar Brand at Montreux Enja Records Quintet, with Carlos Ward (alto sax, flute), Craig Harris (trombone), Alonzo Gardener (electric bass), André Strobert (drums); in concert 1980 Matsidiso Pläne Solo piano; in concert 1980 South Africa Sunshine Pläne Solo piano; Ibrahim adds vocals on some tracks; in concert 1981 Duke's Memories Black & Blue Quartet, with Carlos Ward (alto sax, flute), Rachim Ausur Sahu (bass), Andre Strobert (drums) 1982 African Dawn Enja Records Solo piano 1982 Jazzbühne Berlin '82 Repertoire Solo piano; in concert 1983 Ekaya Ekapa Septet, with Charles Davis (baritone sax), Ricky Ford (tenor sax), Carlos Ward (alto sax), Dick Griffin (trombone), Cecil McBee (bass), Ben Riley (drums) 1983 Zimbabwe Enja Records Quartet, with Carlos Ward (alto sax, flute), Essiet Okun Essiet (bass), Don Mumford (drums); Ibrahim also plays soprano sax 1985 Water from an Ancient Well Tiptoe Septet, with Carlos Ward (alto sax, flute), Dick Griffin (trombone), Ricky Ford (tenor sax), Charles Davis (baritone sax), David Williams (bass), Ben Riley (drums) 1986 South Africa With Carlos Ward (alto sax), Essiet Okun Essiet (bass), Don Mumford (drums), Johnny Classens (vocals); in concert 1988 Mindif Enja Records Recorded for the soundtrack to the film Chocolat 1989 African River Enja Records With John Stubblefield (tenor sax, flute), Horace Alexander Young (alto sax, soprano sax, piccolo), Howard Johnson (tuba, baritone sax, trumpet), Robin Eubanks (trombone), Buster Williams (bass), Brian Abrahams (drums) 1990 No Fear, No Die Enja Film soundtrack 1991 Mantra Mode Enja Septet, with Robbie Jansen (alto sax, baritone sax, flute), Basil Coetzee (tenor sax), Johnny Mekoa (trumpet), Errol Dyers (guitar), Spencer Mbadu (bass), Monty Webber (drums) 1991 Desert Flowers Solo piano 1993 Knysna Blue Tiptoe Solo piano and other instruments 1995 Yarona Tiptoe Trio, with Marcus McLaurine (bass), George Johnson (drums) 1997 Cape Town Flowers Tiptoe Trio, with Marcus McLaurine (bass), George Gray (drums) 1997 Cape Town Revisited Tiptoe/Enja Quartet, with Feya Faku (trumpet), Marcus McLaurine (bass), George Gray (drums) 1997 African Suite With Belden Bullock (bass), George Gray (drums), strings 1998 African Symphony Enja With orchestra 1998 Township One More Time Septet 1998 Voice of Africa 2000 Ekapa Lodumo Tiptoe With the NDR Big Band; in concert 2001 African Magic Enja Records Trio, with Belden Bullock (bass), Sipho Kunene (drums); in concert 2008 Senzo Sunnyside Solo piano 2008 Bombella Sunnyside With the WDR Big Band; in concert 2010 Sotho Blue Sunnyside With Jason Marshall (baritone sax), Keith Loftis (tenor sax), Cleave Guyton (alto sax, flute), Andrae Murchison (trombone), Belden Bullock (bass), George Gray (drums) 2012–13 Mukashi: Once Upon a Time Sunnyside Quartet, with Cleave Guyton (saxophone, flute, clarinet), Eugen Bazijan and Scott Roller (cello); Ibrahim is also on vocals and flute 2014 The Song Is My Story Intuition/Sunnyside Most tracks solo piano; two tracks saxophone 2019 The Balance Gearbox With Ekaya (Noah Jackson, Alec Dankworth, Will Terrill, Adam Glasser, Cleave Guyton Jr., Lance Bryant, Andrae Murchison, Marshall McDonald) 2019 Dream Time Enja Solo piano; in concert 2020 Solotude Gearbox Solo piano 2023 3 Gearbox Trio; volume 2 in concert
Compilations
1973 African Piano Sackville Solo piano; two tracks from Sangoma; one from African Portraits; this is a different album from the African Piano 1973 Fats, Duke and the Monk Sackville Solo piano; one track from Sangoma; one track from African Portraits; one track previously unissued 1983–85 The Mountain Septets; complies tracks from Ekaya and Water from an Ancient Well 1988* Blues for a Hip King 1973–97 A Celebration Enja Records Released 2005 Re:Brahim: Abdullah Ibrahim Remixed Enja Records Remixes of Ibrahim performances; released 2005
As sideman
1966 Midnight Walk Atlantic Records 1976 African Songbird 1977 Buddy Tate Meets Dollar Brand Chiaroscuro
Notes
Sources
External links
Categories: Abdullahibrahim.co.za Official Website, 1934 Births, Living People, Musicians From Cape Town, Cape Coloureds, Converts To Islam, Post-bop Pianists, South African Folk Musicians, South African Jazz Pianists, South African Muslims, Enja Records Artists, 20th-century South African Jazz Composers, African Jazz Pianists, 21st-century South African Pianists, The Jazz Epistles Members, Alumni Of Trafalgar High School, Sackville Records Artists, Black & Blue Records Artists, Sunnyside Records Artists, South African Expatriates In The United States, Nea Jazz Masters
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