Abdullah Ibrahim
9 October 1934 – 15 June 2026
Abdullah Ibrahim is a South African pianist and composer, born in Cape Town and known early in his career as Dollar Brand. He co-founded the Jazz Epistles, left South Africa in the 1960s and built an international career after Duke Ellington arranged a recording session for him in Europe. His tune Mannenberg became associated with the anti-apartheid movement, and he returned to South Africa around 1990.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Abdullah Ibrahim.
- Adonis (1930–present) Overlapped 92 years →
- Asha Bhosle (1933–2026) Overlapped 92 years →
- Buzz Aldrin (1930–present) Overlapped 92 years →
- C. N. R. Rao (1934–present) Overlapped 92 years →
- David Attenborough (1926–present) Overlapped 92 years →
- John Williams (1932–present) Overlapped 92 years →
Life events
Born Adolph Johannes Brand in the Kensington district of Cape Town.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgFormed the group with Hugh Masekela and Kippie Moeketsi, which recorded one of the first jazz albums by Black South African musicians.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgMoved to Zurich with the singer Sathima Bea Benjamin during the apartheid years.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgEllington heard him play in Zurich and arranged a recording session that produced Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgMarried the South African jazz singer, with whom he had worked since the late 1950s.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAdopted the name by which he has recorded since the 1970s.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgThe tune became widely played and was taken up as an anthem of the anti-apartheid movement.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCame back as the political transition began at the start of the 1990s.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPlayed at the ceremony marking the start of Mandela's presidency.
Source: en.wikipedia.org