Customer Reviews

African Piano

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An (almost) solo live gig recorded in a Scandinavian jazz club accompanied by much loud eating, drinking and conversation. It's hard to believe that anyone with a working set of ears would not be completely transfixed by this intense and committed performance - my meatballs would have certainly remained untouched until the last note had faded away. Thankfully, the background noise does not interfere with the listeners enjoyment. I first heard this record 20 years ago and even though I spent several of those years without a copy, the indelible impression left by this blend of South African folk melodies and modern jazz sensibility bound together with a constant muscular, supple rhythmic pulse and an almost tangible spiritual sincerity, has kept it as one of my most beloved of all albums. A "must buy" for any Dollar Brand fan, along with "Good News From Africa", the excellent album of duets with bass player (and fellow South African) Johnny Dyani.

The South African born performer and composer, Dollar Brand (now Abdullah Ibrahim), starts his `African Piano' like some amiable pub pianist idly shuffling the keys of an old piano in the quiet corner of some down-town bar. This mood soon changes as the music develops into an incredibly hypnotic rhythm that dances with your senses and fills you with delight until the very end of the album. This is music that is impossible to categorise, a mix of jazz, blues, gospel, Arabic and traditional African folk tunes fused together to create a wonderfully evocative sound. For many, this music represented the optimism and hope of Soweto during the darkest days of apartheid. Abdullah Ibrahim's solo piano creates a multi-layered sound underlined by strong rhythms and enchanting melodies that seem to recapture the essential spirit of an African music that has escaped from that continent to blossom in the New World. To his many admirers, Abdullah Ibrahim is the `brother with perfect timing' and no other album demonstrates this accolade so well.

An (almost) solo live gig recorded in a Scandinavian jazz club accompanied by much loud eating, drinking and conversation. It's hard to believe that anyone with a working set of ears would not be completely transfixed by this intense and committed performance - my meatballs would have certainly remained untouched until the last note had faded away. Thankfully, the background noise does not interfere with the listeners enjoyment. I first heard this record 20 years ago and even though I spent several of those years without a copy, the indelible impression left by this blend of South African folk melodies and modern jazz sensibility bound together with a constant muscular, supple rhythmic pulse and an almost tangible spiritual sincerity, has kept it as one of my most beloved of all albums. A "must buy" for any Dollar Brand fan, along with "Good News From Africa", the excellent album of duets with bass player (and fellow South African) Johnny Dyani.

The insinuating ostinato of Bra Joe From kilimanjaro, a journey into the heart of Africa unfolds. Abdullah, then still "Dollar Brand", pounds the piano in lilting melodies, and in Selby...works into a fury, flurry of notes, heavy chords. But for the sound of the piano, which adds a freshness to the not so usual sounding, this is Abdullah best effort may be, to be challenged by the Autobiograhy, on Planisphere recorded in Nyon, France. A masterpiece, an African Piano.

I have met accomplished pianists who after hearing this album gave up playing the piano entirely and became monks.

Anything by Abdullah Ibrahim is of value and interest to listen to - this CD is no exception. However I was expecting a recent recording of some of his older compositions .... but beware this is not a recent recording. Although the information on the Amazon net states a date of january 2001, in fact this recording was made in 1969 and released in 1973 under the name of Dollar Brand. A disapointment but still worth the listen especially for anyone who wishes an introduction to the earlier style of Abdullah Ibrahim.............