Abdullah Ibrahim, South Africa’s most distinguished pianist, was born on 9 October 1934 in Cape Town. This year marks not only his 90th birthday but also the start of a world tour. Christine Lucia has studied Ibrahim’s work and published research articles about him. We asked her why he is so important.
Who is Abdullah Ibrahim and what shaped him?
Abdullah Ibrahim is the finest jazz pianist-composer that South Africa has ever produced – even in such a jazz-rich country. He is the country’s equivalent of the US jazz star Duke Ellington, because his legacy lies not only in his live performances or multiple recordings but also in his large number of compositions.
He was brought up going by the name Dollar Brand and was shaped personally by his mixed-race parentage and by growing up in the mixed-race area of central Cape Town formerly known as District Six. The area was demolished during the 1970s by the white minority apartheid regime and 60,000 people were forced to…
