“You know what Duke [Ellington] said about jazz musicians? Damn jazz musicians, can’t play the same thing twice!” Abdullah Ibrahim chuckles.
The iconoclastic South African pianist has spent the past six decades channelling Duke’s maxim that “[jazz] don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got the swing”. Ibrahim animates the celebratory side of his songbook in a rare concert at home this weekend, showcasing some of his most well-loved compositions with the 18-piece New South African Orchestra. It has, among Âothers, Andile Yenana on piano, Feya Faku on trumpet, Barney Rachabane on sax and Andrae Murchison on trombone. The concert features new arrangements of Ibrahim standards, including Manenberg, Song for Sathima, African River and The Mountain.
Cape Town International Convention Centre, Lower Long Street, Cape Town, February 11 at 8pm. Entrance is R200. Book at Computicket.
? The iBuyambo Music & Art Exhibition Centre adds to the number of venues challenging Cape Town’s musical status quo. A live venue and art gallery, it features a roster of rotating jazz and acoustic sounds, bass and reggae nights, soul-jazz sister jams, poetry performances and underground hip-hop sessions. Highlights this week include a Sunday- night session by marimba supremo Bongani Sotshononda and resident artist Hilton Schilder in an acoustic collaboration with ÂKatherine Traut on February 13. In addition, spray-can artist, graffiti writer and beat producer Rizah “Prefix” Potgieter shows his work in the exhibition space.
iBuyambo Music & Art Exhibition Centre, 11 Bree Street, Cape Town. Email: [email protected] or visit its Facebook page for details.