African Piano

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African Piano
Live album by
Released1973
RecordedOctober 1969
VenueJazzhus Montmartre, Copenhagen
GenreJazz
LabelJAPO

African Piano is a solo piano album by Abdullah Ibrahim, recorded in 1969. It was released on LP four years later and was first issued on CD in 1991.

Recording and music[edit]

The album was recorded in concert at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen,[1] in October 1969.[2] The eight tracks on the album are all Ibrahim originals and are played as a continuous piece.[3] This was Ibrahim's second solo piano album, after Reflections, from 1965.[1]

Releases[edit]

African Piano was released on LP on 1 March 1973[4] by JAPO Records, part of ECM Records.[1] The first CD release was in 1991, by ECM.[1] The label subsequently reissued it on CD as part of their Re:solutions series.[1] The LP version was issued under the name Dollar Brand; reissues were attributed to Abdullah Ibrahim, after the pianist changed his name.[1]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide[5]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz[6]

AllMusic summarized that "Ibrahim was still in the process of finding his own sound at the time, although his improvisations (which use repetition and vamps effectively) have their interesting moments."[3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz commented that "the [1991] CD robs the music of some of its full-hearted resonance."[2]

Track listing[edit]

  1. "Bra Joe from Kilimanjaro"
  2. "Selby That the Eternal Spirit Is the Only Reality"
  3. "The Moon"
  4. "Xaba"
  5. "Sunset in Blue"
  6. "Kippy"
  7. "Jabulani – Easter Joy"
  8. "Tintiyana"

Personnel[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Kelman, John (3 March 2014) "Abdullah Ibrahim: African Piano". AllAboutJazz.
  2. ^ a b c Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. p. 556. ISBN 0-14-015364-0.
  3. ^ a b c Yanow, Scott "Dollar Brand / Abdullah Ibrahim – African Piano". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  4. ^ "African Piano – Abdullah Ibrahim". ECM Records. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  5. ^ Swenson, John, ed. (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. p. 342.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin Books. p. 435.