Abdullah Ibrahim

Composer and pianist Abdullah Ibrahim is one of South Africa's best-known and most successful musicians. Inspired by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, the US jazz greats of his time, he created his own style early on under his pseudonym Dollar Brand. To this day, this style is firmly linked to his African origins.

At the age of 87, Abdullah Ibrahim has experienced a lot. His personal life was shaped by the horrors of apartheid, into which he was born. Growing up in one of the poorest black ghettos in South Africa, he had to endure the murder of his father as well as numerous friends. Thus, Ibrahim became a political activist who opposed the regime and wrote the unofficial anthem of the anti-apartheid movement with his play "Mannenberg." Then as now, Abdullah Ibrahim's deeply moving music invites listeners to think, reflect and find answers for themselves about the past and the future. When he is heard at the piano, he creates an atmosphere through his distinctive vibe that is so emotionally charged that it almost gives you goosebumps.