South African jazz legend Abdullah Ibrahim performs on the Rosies stage during the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.
Tributes for cultural activist and global jazz icon Abdullah Ibrahim have poured in from the political realm, with President Cyril Ramaphosa leading the tributes of condolences from Parliament and political parties.
Ramaphosa expressed his profound sadness at the passing of Ibrahim, who was also an Esteemed Member of the Order of Ikhamanga. Ibrahim has passed away at the age of 91, at the end of a life in music that spanned jazz genres and geographies.
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.
