Abdullah Ibrahim The Balance (2019) HD

Taken from his summer 2023 sold-out headline date at London's Barbican Centre, the new album "3" follows suit and is spread across two performances - the first is recorded without an audience recorded ahead of the concert straight to analogue on a 1" Scully tape machine, which had previously been used by Elvis at the famous Memphis-based Sun Studios. The second recording is taken from the evening's performance itself with Ibrahim performing in a unique trio which includes Cleave Guyton (flute, piccolo, saxophone) who has performed alongside the likes of Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, and Joe Henderson, as well as lauded bassist and cellist Noah Jackson, both of which are members of Ekaya and featured on Ibrahim's top 3 Billboard Jazz album "The Balance".

'Mukashi' sees Ibrahim joined by his companion of many years, reeds player Cleave Guyton, who combines sensitively with the pianist. However, Ibrahim also sought new textures for the recording, specifically fragile layers of sound. His addition of two master cellists with great expertise in all genres, Eugen Bazijan and Scott Roller, proves to be a master stroke as they fit seamlessly into this musical world and complement the other instrumentation wonderfully.

Abdullah Ibrahim's followers likely have preferences for his big-band, large-ensemble, trio, or solo works, but any of his fans will agree that all of his projects display a unique melodic touch that is immediately recognizable and pleasant. Well into his golden years, Ibrahim still proves he has the Midas touch on this collection of 22 solo acoustic piano pieces. It's a mix of familiar songs and new material, all referencing the elements of life, nature, hearth, and homeland that have always been central themes in what he calls storytelling, not mere music-making. On this triptych through memorable experiences, the pianist weaves his way through many short snippets of phrases that have served him well, and a few extended discourses that define his career and its struggles to come out triumphant…

This project is built on a paradox: the idea that a large-scale African landscape can best be expressed musically in the most Germanic of media, the full romantic orchestra. Schnyder employs a sonic palette closely associated with Bruckner, Mahler and Strauss. It works because Ibrahim's eclecticism extends far beyond his African roots and encompasses American jazz and blues, Arabic influences, English choral and European romantic music. (Schnyder points out that, as a master of suspense and musical space, Ibrahim is a great "rest composer" in the tradition of Bach and Beethoven.) It also works because Schnyder's arrangements are deeply in touch with Ibrahim's belief in the hypnotic, cathartic, healing power of music. The huge ensemble never overwhelms or intrudes. It surrounds Ibrahim's trio (with Marcus McLaurine on bass and George Gray on drums) with airy, translucent elaborations that add scale and texture and fascinating detail to this varied fabric of incantations.

This was a nicely blended, somewhat mellow and seemingly quite finished recording by Abdullah Ibrahim with Carlos Ward (alto sax, flute), Essiet Okun Essiet (bass), and Don Mumford (drums) called Zimbabwe. Interspaced with non-originals were four Ibrahim compositions, most of which were inspired by the imagery from Ibrahim's South African roots.

Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim has celebrated his South African heritage in music ever since being forced to emigrate from his homeland in the early '60s. Considering that this CD was recorded in Cape Town, South Africa in 1997 and that apartheid is a thing of the past, it is not surprising that Ibrahim's music is even happier than usual. The 15 songs, all originals by the pianist, are played in a continuous performance, including some old favorites ("The Wedding" and "The Mountain") plus a few newer tunes; "Someday Soon Sweet Samba" and "African Street Parade" are particularly joyous and rousing. Ibrahim is joined by bassist Marcus McLaurine, drummer George Gray and (on three numbers) trumpeter Feya Faku, whose entry on the seventh song is somewhat jarring. Overall, this is one of Abdullah Ibrahim's best all-around sets.