Jazz: Meshack Mabogoane
THERE are musicians who use sound as the basis for working their beings into living monuments to creativity and expression. The sounds they produce are more than musical, however consummate their accomplishment; they convey something — the very depths, even — of the person. Both musician and music serve as conduits for a transcendent force that imprints itself on the collective psyche and becomes part of the universal creative
Abdullah Ibrahim is in this class. In him this country has produced a first-rate musician, perhaps our musical Madiba. His music embodies many influences and genres, an indication of the cultural diversity of South Africa (and the Western Cape in particular) as well as of his vast experiences.
Out of these, Ibrahim has carved a distinct mosaic. It’s a measure of his genius that he has been able to lift local influences up to universal levels, as much as he has managed to include foreign strains into what is close to
In over 40 years, Ibrahim, via Dollar Brand, has succeeded in forging a unique voice, an intensely personal musical tradition of his own. It is a tradition that has its roots in various legacies, ranging from sublimely complex jazz-based tunes to the simple, lyrical ditties that dart out with such gusto. Even today, the harmonic influences of pianist and band leader Duke Ellington, Ibrahim’s mentor who invited him to the United States in the 1960s, and the melodic textures of Thelonious Monk still have a heavy presence in his music.
Ibrahim is currently on tour in South Africa, promoting his latest CD, Yarona. At last weekend’s solo and duo (with saxophonist Khaya Mahlangu) perfomances in Johannesburg, he demonstrated a mastery that speaks of volumes of sweat, skill and spirit.
It is testimony to his continual search for meaning that even the old stuff gets fresh treatment each time he goes through it. His solo rendition of Tintinyana, for example, a tune dating from the 1960s and recorded with both local and American combos, turned his piano into an orchestra, yet retained a sense of the individuality of both the man and the instrument. His cascades of chords seemed overflowing, yet were masterfully handled, as though the streams were made to go through a well-constructed ford or dam.
Ibrahim moved in and out of familiar grounds — shifting from an intense, blues-based pianism, through Ellingtonia, classic harmonics punctuated by Monkish textures, to tunes that resonated with the earthy gaiety of District Six, Marabastad and Sophiatown. These shifts kept one in suspense as Ibrahim called on all the sources that have shaped his musical world.
Here was the work of a consummate jazz musician, confirming the view that jazz is the sound of surprise that requires both the player and listener to await the unexpected.
It was a spiritual tour de force that took one back to the past, anchored one firmly in the present (his intense presence rivets one) and projected one into the future (he is exploratory even within familiar grounds).
At 60, he is at the pinnacle of his genius. One of the few remaining movers and moulders of the 1960s, both here and abroad, he seems aware of the responsibility of maintaining a tradition of improvisation and ensuring that emerging musicians uphold it as well.
Teaming up with the underrated Mahlangu was yet another coup. When the two performed Ibrahim’s Blues for a Hip King, another old, soulful tune which he recorded with a combo made up of American musicians, it was so distilled, succinct and spirited that the audience, which had remained quiet and entranced throughout, burst into equally spirited and spontaneous applause.
Ending off, his latest work in progress, an orchestral piece tentatively titled A South African Symphony and dedicated to uprooted communities, was superbly performed by Ibrahim. It demonstrated that surprises are in store for us yet from this youthful old
Ibrahim will perform works for solo piano at Cape Town’s National Gallery on December 17 and 24 at 5.30pm, and from December 18 to 23 at 8.15pm. He will also perform with Ekaya and a string orchestra at the Cape Town City Hall at 8.30pm from December 29 to January 2