Born in 1934, Ibrahim is a world-respected master musician. 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 – the Cape Town of his childhood was a melting-pot of cultural influences, and the young Dollar Brand, as he became known, was exposed to American jazz, township jive, CapeMalay music, as well as to classical music. Out of this blend of the secular and the religious, the traditional and the modern, developed the distinctive style, harmonies and musical vocabulary that are inimitably his own.
“Esteemed pianist and composer Prof Abdullah Ibrahim’s contribution to the South African cultural landscape and jazz music, both locally and internationally, is undeniable. By bridging African and jazz traditions in his compositions, Ibrahim takes one on a musical journey through time and history. He continues to play an important part in our musical heritage and his compositions has inspired many other jazz musicians as well as millennials,” says Rowlin Naicker, Sony ATV.
When not touring, Ibrahim divides his time between Cape Town and New York. In addition to composing and performing, he has started a South African production company, Masingita (Miracle), and established a music academy, M7, offering courses in seven disciplines to educate young minds and bodies.
Abdullah Ibrahim is the recipient of many awards and honorary doctorates and remains at his zenith as a musician and a tireless initiator of new projects. His two Cape Town concerts will be a musical collage that transcends category, combining the intimate and the universal.
Tickets from Artscape on 021 421 7695 and Computicket or 086 191 58000 at a cost of R300 to R375. Advance booking is essential.
