A B D U L L A H I B R A H I M
Solo or with Ekaya 2019 - 2022
Workshops & Masterclasses also available in conjunction with shows
NEA Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim's first album in 4 years – The Balance – will be released on Gearbox Records on vinyl and all digital platforms on June 28th this year followed by a live solo recording, Dream Time, on ENJA Records in early September.
The first single from The Balance - Jabula - is out now.
"We push ourselves out of our comfort zones. So that we can present to the listener our striving for excellence. So that we can engage with our listeners without any barriers of our ego. It’s not jazz. For us, it’s a process of transcending barriers. Technically it’s very, very skilled, but there’s simplicity in the complexity so that people can relate to it. It’s a natural rhythm of the universe." - Abdullah Ibrahim, on his performances with Ekaya
“South Africa’s Mozart.” - Nelson Mandela
“There are few musicians in jazz who can make you feel that essentially all is right in the world.” - The Times
“Stark pianism and gently rapturous compositions are steeped in the bright harmonies and bouncing rhythms of (Ibrahim’s) native Cape Town.” - New York Times
Abdullah Ibrahim is South Africa’s most distinguished pianist, a global jazz icon. His music inspired a generation and his most famous song, Mannenberg, became a theme song of the struggle against Apartheid.
Ibrahim himself lived mostly in exile from the early 60’s, in New York and Europe, and is one of very few surviving artists of that era who continues to have a vibrant recording and performing career, well into his eighties.
For more than a quarter-century he has toured the world extensively, appearing at major concert halls, clubs and festivals, giving sell-out performances, as solo artist or with other renowned artists (notably, Max Roach, Carlos Ward and Randy Weston).
His collaborations with classical orchestras have resulted in acclaimed recordings, such as African Suite (1999, with members of the European Union Youth Orchestra) and the Munich Radio Philharmonic orchestra symphonic version, “African Symphony” (2001), which also featured the trio and the NDR Jazz Big Band.
Abdullah Ibrahim remains at his zenith, as a musician and a tireless initiator of new projects. In his own words: “Some do it because they have to do it, we do it because we want to….so we do not require much sleep… so we have to do it."
Official website: https://abdullahibrahim.co.za
