Abdullah Ibrahim
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Abdullah Ibrahim, born Adolph Johannes Brand, later known as Dollar Brand (from a popular brand of matches), is a South African pianist and composer who was born in Cape Town in 1934. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood, ranging from traditional African songs and religious music, to more modern jazz and other Western styles. He first received piano lessons at the age of seven, and was playing jazz professionally by 1949. In 1959 and 1960, he played with The Jazz Epistles in Sophiatown before joining the European tour of the musical King Kong.
In 1962 during a tour of Europe Duke Ellington heard “The Dollar Brand Trio” playing in Zürich's “Africana Club”. As a result, a recording was set up with Reprise Records; “Duke Ellington presents The Dollar Brand Trio”. The Dollar Brand Trio (with Johnny Gertze on bass and Makaya Ntshoko on drums) subsequently played at many European festivals, as well as on radio and television. Since then he has toured mainly in Europe, the United States, and in his home country, South Africa. Performances are mainly in concerts and clubs, mostly as a band, but with the occasional solo piano. He plays piano, flute, and saxophone, and composes all of his own music.
A short attempt to return to South Africa in the mid-1970s after his conversion to Islam (and the resultant change of name from Dollar Brand to Abdullah Ibrahim) saw him return to New York in 1976, as he found the political conditions too oppressive. While in South Africa he made a series of recordings with the cream of Cape jazz players (Basil Coetzee and Robbie Jansen, for instance), which included Coetzee's masterpiece, "Manenberg", one of the greatest South African compositions ever, and which became the unofficial soundtrack to the anti-apartheid resistance.
Abdullah Ibrahim has written the soundtracks for a number of films, including the award winning Chocolat and, more recently, No Fear, No Die. Since the abolition of Apartheid, he now lives in South Africa and divides his time between his global concert circuit, New York, and South Africa.
Abdullah Ibrahim is a towering figure in South African music, an artist who brings together all its traditions with a deeply felt understanding of American jazz, from the orchestral richness of Duke Ellington's compositions for big band to the groundbreaking innovations of Ornette Coleman and the 1960s avant-garde.
Ibrahim has worked as a solo performer, typically in mesmerising unbroken concerts that echo the unstoppable impetus of the old marabi performers. He also performs regularly with trios and quartets and larger orchestral units. Since his triumphant 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 installation as President. He has also founded a school for South African musicians in Cape Town.da:Abdullah Ibrahim de:Abdullah Ibrahim nl:Abdullah Ibrahim