Abdullah Ibrahim Solo

"Good News from Africa" is a legendary album title by South African pianist, composer and activist Abdullah Ibrahim, whose name was Adolphe Johannes "Dollar" Brand before his conversion to Islam. Born in Cape Town on October 9, 1934, Abdullah Ibrahim is considered arguably Africa's most formative and influential jazz musician. Those who may remember the great concerts with Hugh Masekela and Larry Willis in November 2013 or the solo performance by von Nduduzo Makhathini in October 2021 will perceive this evening as a "missing link". Abdullah Ibrahim's music is essential in the emphatic sense. When he sits down at the piano, he draws on what is now 80 years of playing experience. Although he has also composed for larger ensembles during his long career, inspired by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, Abdullah Ibrahim has always developed a very special form of solo recital. In a long, uninterrupted set, he explores his life's work to a certain extent in the moment, setting accents, developing motifs, hinting at them, repeating or varying them until his rubato playing unfolds a hypnotic power that draws from the spiritual and knows how to cast a spell. Albums like "Senzo" (2008), "Dreamtime" (2019) or most recently "Solotude" (2021), the latter recorded in his adopted home in Chiemgau, give a good impression, but live this approach develops a different form of intensity.