Biography
South Africa’s musical heritage merges with jazz improvisation and classical technique in the work of pianist Dollar Brand, who adopted the name Abdullah Ibrahim upon his conversion to Islam in 1968. After gaining worldwide attention as a founding member of the Jazz Epistles, one of the country’s earliest jazz ensembles, Ibrahim has kept pushing boundaries through his inventive approach. As a child he absorbed an eclectic mix of traditional African music, spiritual songs, and jazz, beginning formal piano lessons at seven. He turned professional in 1949, appearing with local ensembles including the Tuxedo Slickers and the Willie Max Big Band. A decade later he joined the Jazz Epistles alongside trumpeter Hugh Masekela and alto saxophonist Kippi Moeketsi. Formed that same year by visiting American pianist John Mehegan for the Jazz in Africa sessions, the group produced the first jazz album recorded by South African musicians.
In 1962 Ibrahim departed South Africa alongside vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin; the pair married in 1965 and established a temporary base in Zurich. There his trio, completed by bassist Johnny Gertze and drummer Makaya Ntshoko, caught the ear of Duke Ellington at the Africana Club. Ellington’s enthusiasm led to a recording date that yielded Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio, issued by Reprise in 1963. Ellington’s patronage continued: at his urging Ibrahim performed at the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival and, the next year, substituted in five concerts with the Ellington Orchestra. Soon afterward Ibrahim dissolved the trio to spend six months in Elvin Jones’s quartet. Subsequent years brought further collaborations, among them solo recitals in 1968 and work with bands led by Don Cherry and Gato Barbieri. A brief return to South Africa in 1976 preceded his relocation to New York, where he settled that same year. Although he moved back to South Africa in 1990, he thereafter maintained residences in both locations.
Ibrahim teamed with drummer Max Roach for a 1997 album and tour. The following year Swiss composer Daniel Schnyder orchestrated several of his pieces for a 22-piece ensemble featured in a Swiss television production; the same arrangements supported a world tour by the full Munich Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under American conductor Barbara Yahr. Ibrahim remained active through the late 1990s and 2000s, issuing African Suite (1999, Enja), Cape Town Revisited (2000, Enja; recorded 1997), Ekapa Lodumo (2001, Enja/Tiptoe), African Magic (2003, Enja/Justin Time), Senzo (2008, Sunnyside), and Bombella (2009, Intuition). He has also written film scores for Chocolat and No Fear No Die.
In 1962 Ibrahim departed South Africa alongside vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin; the pair married in 1965 and established a temporary base in Zurich. There his trio, completed by bassist Johnny Gertze and drummer Makaya Ntshoko, caught the ear of Duke Ellington at the Africana Club. Ellington’s enthusiasm led to a recording date that yielded Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio, issued by Reprise in 1963. Ellington’s patronage continued: at his urging Ibrahim performed at the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival and, the next year, substituted in five concerts with the Ellington Orchestra. Soon afterward Ibrahim dissolved the trio to spend six months in Elvin Jones’s quartet. Subsequent years brought further collaborations, among them solo recitals in 1968 and work with bands led by Don Cherry and Gato Barbieri. A brief return to South Africa in 1976 preceded his relocation to New York, where he settled that same year. Although he moved back to South Africa in 1990, he thereafter maintained residences in both locations.
Ibrahim teamed with drummer Max Roach for a 1997 album and tour. The following year Swiss composer Daniel Schnyder orchestrated several of his pieces for a 22-piece ensemble featured in a Swiss television production; the same arrangements supported a world tour by the full Munich Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under American conductor Barbara Yahr. Ibrahim remained active through the late 1990s and 2000s, issuing African Suite (1999, Enja), Cape Town Revisited (2000, Enja; recorded 1997), Ekapa Lodumo (2001, Enja/Tiptoe), African Magic (2003, Enja/Justin Time), Senzo (2008, Sunnyside), and Bombella (2009, Intuition). He has also written film scores for Chocolat and No Fear No Die.
Albums
