Abdullah Ibrahim

Amazing that this 80-year-old jazz pianist can and does still perform in his senior years. Abdullah Ibrahim participated in and founded the jazz movement, ‘Cape Jazz’ in his native Cape Town, South Africa in the 1970’s with influences from the American jazz movement in New Orleans and musicians like Duke Ellington. Ibrahim, who attended the prestigious Juilliard music school in New York, has been composing and performing music since the 1960s, his latest being “Mukashi: Once Upon a Time” which came out last year.
You can tell that improvisation plays a huge part in Ibrahim’s musical strategy, and he creates with grace and purpose, switching tempos with ease yet performing cohesive pieces of music. Ibrahim’s music is calming, meditative, sometimes romantic and always contemplative. “The Wedding” is a such a piece, which includes composition for the saxophone. Other pieces of ‘Cape Jazz’ poignantly allude to life in South Africa, like “African Market Place” and “Cape Town Flower.” With a furrowed brow and skilled fingers, Ibrahim continues to perform his own music in his advanced age. He has gained the respect of many and influences musicians and composers alike in the jazz world.