Abdullah Ibrahim

Abdullah Ibrahim
Ibrahim performing at the 2011 Moers Festival
Background information
Birth name	Adolph Johannes Brand
Also known as	Dollar Brand
Born	(1934-10-09) 9 October 1934 (age 89) Cape Town, South Africa
Genres	South African jazz, bebop, post-bop, folk
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, bandleader
Instrument(s)	Piano, saxophone, cello
Years active	1955–present
Website	abdullahibrahim.co.za

Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cape Town, ranging from traditional African songs to the gospel of the AME Church and Ragas, to more modern jazz and other Western styles. Ibrahim is considered the leading figure in the subgenre of Cape jazz. Within jazz, his music particularly reflects the influence of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. He is known especially for "Mannenberg", a jazz piece that became a notable anti-apartheid anthem.^[1]

During the apartheid era in the 1960s, Ibrahim moved to New York City and, apart from a brief return to South Africa in the 1970s, remained in exile until the early 1990s. Over the decades, he has toured the world extensively, appearing at major venues either as a solo artist or playing with other renowned musicians, including Max Roach, Carlos Ward and Randy Weston, as well as collaborating with classical orchestras in Europe.^[2]

With his wife, the jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin, Ibrahim is father to two children, including the New York underground rapper Jean Grae.