An historic performance by Abdullah Ibrahim at Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2026 earlier this year. CTIJF has proudly partnered with Ian Burgess-Simpson Pianos.
On the eve of June 16, the day we reflect on the brutality of apartheid-inspired Bantu education, the world lost the legendary Abdullah Ibrahim.
Born in 1934 and previously known as Dollar Brand, Ibrahim was in a class of his own.
He was a renowned pianist and composer. His music, shaped by his childhood in Cape Town's multicultural port areas, spanned traditional African songs, AME Church gospel, ragas, modern jazz, and various Western styles, reaching from Cape Town to Soweto and across Africa and Europe.
During the 1960s apartheid, Ibrahim moved to New York City and stayed in exile until the early 1990s, briefly returning to South Africa in the 1970s. He travelled internationally, performing at major venues as a soloist and with musicians such as Max Roach, Carlos Ward, and Randy Weston, and working with European classical orchestras.
