South African piano legend was born Adolph Johannes Brand. If you are born in 1934, and your parents name you Adolph, you have a duty to ditch the moniker. He chooses Dollar Brand, more capitalist than fascist. The music is a fascinating blend of jazz and traditional Cape Town folk styles. In the early 60s, Brand moved to Europe where, and I can’t believe I get to write this, was “discovered” by one Duke Ellington. From Europe to the US, with approval from Duke, Brand fell in quickly with such forward thinkers as Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, and Pharoah Sanders. Brand is now in a perfect spot to play a role in the Black Power movement, convert to Islam and change his name again to Abdullah Ibrahim. Returning to South Africa, AI pens the tune Mannenberg, widely considered the theme song of the anti-apartheid movement. The body of work continues to grow with forays into free jazz and film scores. In the 90s, I stumble upon the soundtrack to the movie Mindiff, which beautifully encapsulates the Ibrahim sound. Happy to get a rare viewing of this storied nonagenarian jointly presented by the Shubert and the Schwarzman Center. On this evening, the format was trio with Cleave Guyton Jr. on flute, piccolo, and clarinet and Noah Jackson on bass and cello. The set leans on the recent Solotude record with some renditions of Trieste My Love, Blue Bolero, and Mindiff. The instrumentation gave a cinematic feel with cello and flute being perfect foils for Ibrahim’s surprisingly nimble runs. At 90, the set was brief but it felt like I was witnessing history.
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