Abdullah Ibrahim

Sound

Abdullah Ibrahim

Born 1934-10-09 · Cape Town, South Africa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Abdullah Ibrahim, born Adolph Johannes Brand, 9 October 1934 in Cape Town, South Africa, 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. Within jazz, his music particularly reflects the influence of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. With his wife, the jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin, he is father to the New York underground rapper Jean Grae, as well as to a son, Tsakwe. Description above from the Wikipedia article Abdullah Ibrahim, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony poster
6.5

The struggle to eradicate apartheid in South Africa has been chronicled over time, but no one has addressed the vital role music plays in this challenge. This documentary by Lee Hirsch recounts a fascinating and little-known part of South Africa's political history through archival footage, interviews and, of course, several mesmerizing musical performances.

Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony

2002

No artwork available
7.3

Little Bird's first South African production, SOPHIATOWN has won the award for Best Documentary at the Cape Town World Cinema Festival 2003. SOPHIATOWN celebrates the great popular jazz music of the 1950's in South Africa; a rich tradition deserving international attention. Director Pascale Lamche, traces the music, uncovers the artists who created it and the unique culture in which it thrived, concentrated in Sophiatown, Johannesburg's own Harlem, which fuelled by liberation politics until its destruction by the Apartheid regime. The film features Nelson Mandela and such household names from the jazz world as Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Abdullah Ibrahim, Jonas Gwangwa and Caiphus Semenya.

Sophiatown

2003

Africa Rising poster
7.5

How African artists have spread African culture all over the world, especially music, since the harsh years of decolonization, trying to offer a nicer portrait of this amazing continent, historically known for tragic subjects, such as slavery, famine, war and political chaos.

Africa Rising

2019

Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes poster
NR

The Drum Waltzes explores the life and music of legendary drummer, activist Max Roach, his creative peaks, personal struggles and re-inventions from the Jim Crow to Civil Rights eras, from heady days of post-war jazz to hip hop and beyond.

Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes

2023

No artwork available
NR

The story of legendary jazz musician Abdullah Ibrahim and his struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

Abdullah Ibrahim: A Brother with Perfect Timing

1987