Jul 2: Abdullah Ibrahim RIP

Back in April I posted about the South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim / Dollar Brand.

I was sorry to notice an obituary for him in yesterday's issue of the i newspaper, and that he passed on June the 15th.

I saw him play a concert in Sheffield.

I don't think it was at the Leadmill from memory, although I know that he did play there.

It must have been in the early to mid 1980s as I remember having to get a lift home, so I hadn't learned to drive yet...

This website suggests he played the Crucible Theatre in 1981-ish with his Quartet.... not sure it was there either. Although I did see the late John Martyn there in a memorable concert.

Here's a track from the late 1970s... full of the energy I remember from seeing him play live. His later albums were more reflective.

Here's a Guardian obituary for him.

His music played a part in the freedom struggle in South Africa. His tune Mannenberg, recorded during a return visit in 1974, became an anthem of the movement, its title referring to a Cape Flats township created under the Group Areas Act to house black South African people evicted when Cape Town’s District Six was designated a whites-only area.
After the Soweto uprising of 1976 he left South Africa again, declaring his support for the African National Congress. Nelson Mandela was said to have described him as “our Mozart”.

Here's Mannenberg with some shots of Robben Island when he visited.