Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » The Abdullah Ibrahim Trio at 92NY

The Abdullah Ibrahim Trio at 92NY

View Slideshow

Courtesy Paul Reynolds

By Paul Reynolds
November 22, 2024
View read count

Ibrahim's seeming fragility made the performance all the more affecting. Indeed, the evening had the air of a touching farewell.

The Abdullah Ibrahim Trio
92NY
New York, NY
November 18, 2024

South Africa arguably offers the headiest jazz brew found beyond the borders of the U.S. And since the 2018 death of trumpeter

Hugh Masekela

flugelhorn
1939 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Hugh Masekela, the undisputed elder statesman of the nation's jazz has been Masekela's former '50s Johannesburg band mate,

" data-original-title="" title="">Abdullah Ibrahim.

In a career that spans more than 70 years, the pianist's music has epitomized the unique hodgepodge that is the jazz of his homeland. South Africa's iteration of the music fuses American jazz to the country's own musical traditions—in particular the vibrant sounds of the townships around Cape Town, where Ibrahim grew up. And, in the '60s and '70s, just as American jazz gained inspiration from Black Power activism, South Africa's music was supercharged by the moral and political passion of the anti-apartheid movement.

Ibrahim migrated from South Africa to New York via Europe and made his mark in every jazz community. At home, he played in the groundbreaking Jazz Epistles and composed "Mannenburg." which became an anti-apartheid anthem. His long stint in New York has seen him maintain an acclaimed, long-standing band, Ekaya ("Home"), score the acclaimed 1988 Claire Denis film "Chocolat" and be named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2018.

If only Ibrahim's Friday concert at 92NY on Manhattan's Upper East Side better reflected his towering legacy. The pianist, who turned 90 this year, spent barely half of the 90-minute set actually playing. Instead, he all but ceded the stage to his bandmates,

Cleave Guyton

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Cleave Guyton on reeds and flute and

Noah Jackson

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Noah Jackson on bass and cello. Both are capable players, but a set dominated by a band's accompanists playing alone as their leader looks on is an exercise in unfulfilled promise.

The concert's final piece, a trio version of the aforementioned "Mannenburg," is an unfortunate example. Ibrahim played a few bars of introduction before dropping out and leaving Guyton and Jackson to play the song's sinuous melody, and for each to solo. Ibrahim returned only to add a single note to the very end of the piece.

Ibrahim did perform a handful of solo pieces, (he's recorded at least 15 unaccompanied albums over his career), and one song in particular was the show's highlight. As a pianist, Ibrahim favors pastel lyricism—stylistically, his playing is more ECM Records than Blue Note, and, characteristically, "The Wedding" is far from the exuberant party piece that its title might suggest. Jettisoning the trio arrangement included on 3 (Gearbox Records, 2024), the fine two-disc album featuring Ibrahim, Guyton and Jackson, the pianist played the pensive ballad alone, wringing emotion from its lovely melodic theme. Ibrahim's seeming fragility made the performance all the more affecting.

Indeed, the evening had the air of a touching farewell. A majority of the near-sold-out house stood at the end, but chatter overheard as the crowd filed out suggested some people were more saluting Ibrahim's lifetime of work than celebrating this somewhat unsatisfying performance.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Joe Russo's Almost Dead Two-Night Ru...
< Previous

Chimera
Next >

Abdullah Ibrahim Concerts

Oct 3 Fri

Abdullah Ibrahim

Rose Theater
New York, NY

Oct 4 Sat

Abdullah Ibrahim

Rose Theater
New York, NY

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.