Abdullah ibrahim biography
Abdullah Ibrahim, South Africa’s most distinguished pianist, was born on 9 October 1934 in Cape Town. For his 90th birthday he is embarking on a new world tour. Christine Lucia has studied Ibrahim’s work and published research articles about him. We asked her why he is so important, even in the sunset of his career.
Who is Abdullah Ibrahim and what shaped him?
Abdullah Ibrahim is the finest jazz pianist-composer that South Africa had ever produced – even in such a jazz-rich country. He is the country’s equivalent of the US jazz star Duke Ellington, because his legacy lies not only in his live performances or multiple recordings but also in his large number of compositions.
He was brought up going by the name Dollar Brand and was shaped personally by his mixed-race parentage and by growing up in the mixed-race area of central Cape Town formerly known as District Six. The area was demolished during the 1970s by the white minority apartheid regime and 60,000 people were forced to live far outside Cape Town on the Cape Flats.
He was shaped by this violent political landscape of racism and oppression. As a young man he was also shaped by his conversion to Islam in 1968, which is when he took the name Abdullah Ibrahim, and by his practice of martial arts and zen (a form of Buddhism).
Musically he was shaped by the variety of different musics he heard in Cape Town. These include jazz, the Cape carnival troupes known as klopse and the music of people who practised the Sufi branch of Islam in the Cape and whose chanting, drumming and dancing he witnessed.
He was influenced by the Christian hymns played by his mother and other music he heard at the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which included gospel and African-American spirituals. He was shaped by jazz and dance band music and by African traditional music from Lesotho, the country of his father; even by Indian classical music and western art music.
What distinguishes his work?
His work as a com
Abdullah Ibrahim
South African pianist and composer (born 1934)
Musical artist
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 of the AME Church and Ragas, 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.
Biography
Ibrahim was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 9 October 1934, and was baptized Adolph Johannes Brand. He attended Trafalgar High School in Cape Town's District Six, and began piano lessons at the age of seven, making his professional debut at 15. He is of mixed-race heritage, making him a Coloured person according to the apartheid system. His mother played piano in a church, the musical style of which would remain an influence on him; in addition, he learned to play several genres of music during his youth in Cape Town, including marabi, mbaqanga, and American jazz. He became well known in jazz circles in Cape Town Abdullah Ibrahim 1934 - present South African pianist and composer. Born Adolph Johannes Brand, Ibrahim began his career in his home country, playing in a big swing band, forming his own trio, and then recording in a modern jazz sextet called the Jazz Epistles. This music was released in 1961, but soon afterwards, the political situation in South Africa led to the break up of the band, and Ibrahim (under the name Dollar Brand) moved to Switzerland, playing in a trio and accompanying the singer Sathima Bea Benjamin, whom he later married. “Eighty years ago in Cape Town, South Africa, my grandmother sent me to the local piano teacher for lessons. I humbly accept and dedicate this prestigious award to her and all those who assisted me on the way—mentors, companions, family, musicians, friends. On their behalf, my sincerest gratitude to the NEA.” Abdullah Ibrahim combines the rhythmic influences of South Africa with the improvisation of jazz to create his spiritually enriching music, whether performing solo, with a trio, a full band, or an orchestra. This blend of the traditional and the modern is reflected in his distinctive style, harmonies, and musical vocabulary. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa, as Adolph Johannes Brand and was widely known as Dollar Brand early in his career, before changing his name when he converted to Islam. His mother and one of his grandmothers were pianists and singers in the church, and their enthusiasm for music inspired him to take up piano lessons at age seven. At 15, Ibrahim began playing and recording professionally with Cape Town groups. In 1958, he formed the Dollar Brand Trio that played African-inflected bebop, and a year later performed with the short-lived septet the Jazz Epistles, including renowned trumpeter Hugh Masekela. The group recorded the first jazz album by South African musicians, Jazz Epistle Verse 1. In 1962, Ibrahim left South Africa and settled in Zurich, Switzerland, where he came to Duke Ellington's attention. Their introduction not only led to Ellington producing an album featuring Ibrahim but also enabled him and his wife, vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin, to move to the United States. Ibrahim soon was featured at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and at the legendary Newport Jazz Festival. He also toured with the Elvin Jones Quartet for six months. While living in New York City, Ibrahim expanded the circle of his musical influences to include avant-garde American musicians such as Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, John
Duke Ellington heard the group, arranged for it to record, and later brought Ibrahim to the United States, where he appeared at the Newport festival, toured with Elvin Jones and led his own groups. Gradually, Ibrahim's distinctive style began to emerge - music that recalled the sounds of South Africa, and mixed his country's vocal and harmonic traditions with the rhythmic feeling and improvisation of jazz.
In the late 1960s, he spent time in South Africa, Europe and the United States, but from 1977 until the end of Apartheid, he was mainly based in New York. Since 1990 he has split his time between South Africa and New York. From 1983 he has led a group called Ekaya (which means 'home') as well as various trios, occasional big bands and many special projects.
Central to his music is the idea that his compositions can be learned by ear - he seldom uses written scores - and that his pieces build from simple beginnings to huge and exciting sounds. He also continues to play solo piano, using techniques from all areas of piano history from the boogie woogie that first inspired him to play jazz to the more modern sounds of his mentor Ellington and a player he greatly admired, Thelonious Monk.
Further Reading:
Ed Hazell: 'Abdullah Ibrahim' in Barry Kernfeld (ed): The New Grove Dicitonary of Jazz (2nd ed) London 2001.
Recommended CD:
Abdullah Ibrahim and Ekaya: The Mountain (Camden CDN 1002)
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