The antithesis of bustle, the definition instead of serenity. Serious music that is not overly-portentous containing that ''spiritual'' sense you only get when an artist of Ibrahim's magnitude performs. Stocked full of familiar pieces including 'The Wedding', 'Blues for a Hip King' and 'Blue Bolero' no one does stateliness better than the South African jazz icon, now 87. ''My journey, my vision'' it says below the title on the cover. Recorded last year at the Hirzinger Hall in the small Bavarian town of Riedering Solotude is a hymn of concentration and a communing with an ancient sense that is quite touching on many occasions – gentle exclamations, moans and spontaneous rumbles, from Ibrahim sometimes the only companion to the sound of piano.
No jazz musician alive is as Ellingtonian as Ibrahim. It's the sheer touch and the quality of the compositions often notable for their simplicity for instance ‘Blue Bolero' in addition to that weight and mastery of timing he shares with Duke, that works like the most benign of charms. There is so much grace throughout it's part of the spell. A late-period masterwork that speaks to the listener on a personal, human, level.
Thanks to all readers, new and old, in 2021. And there are plenty of new ones because marlbank has had its best year ever with 48 per cent more page views and 31 per cent more unique page views compared to 2020. Help us to keep delivering a quality daily jazz site by donating
Tags: