Cape Town-born musician and composer Abdullah Ibrahim has been playing piano for more than 80 years. Throughout his career, both as a solo musician and as part of larger groups, he has pioneered the harmonizing of African music and styles from different geographies and periods. After playing in various orchestras in his youth, in 1959 he formed a septet called the Jazz Epistles with musicians like Kippie Moeketsi and Hugh Masekela. Together, they released their first album “Jazz Epistle, Verse 1” in 1960. Leaving behind the repression of the apartheid regime in his home country, Ibrahim went first to Europe and then to New York, where he worked with figures like Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, and Duke Ellington. He won awards for the soundtracks he composed for films like Claire Denis’ “Chocolat” (1988) and “No Fear, No Die.” He continues to work with his group Ekaya and various big bands. He most recently released the solo piano album “Solotude” was recorded live on his eighty-sixth birthday at Hirzinger Hall in Germany, during the 2020 lockdown, with no audience beyond a technical crew. Ibrahim is a critical figure not only for the jazz scene but for the history of global music. He will perform on October 6 at the Atatürk Kültür Merkezi.
Abdullah Ibrahim: Piano