Abdullah Ibrahim
African Magic

Magic created with very few notes is the secret of Abdullah Ibrahim.

Melancholy rises as the absolute master of the musical flow, with only superfluous details around. The feeling is always that the piece is about to start at any moment, while it is there suspended, waiting for something to happen, but little happens; in fact, we continue undeterred to wait, while time passes gently. Sometimes even the bongos can express perplexity, doubts, and not just make us think of floral crowns and shows for tourists. The piano enters the brain, a unique stimulus, and envelops. And indeed the African magic that gives the album its title manifests itself in all its essence. But it is not just Africa's magic; it is a potpourri of sweet sensations, each chord expresses a small snapshot.  

The pieces, almost all very short, flee quickly and one tries to chase them, the wonderful "Blue
Bolero" throughout the CD. The work is from 2002, Abdullah is accompanied by Belden
Bullock on bass and Sipho Kunene on drums, and it was recorded in Berlin. The 54 minutes fly
by, and they don't evoke poor, borderline Africa but self-awareness, of merging with
the West, of fusion of ideas, of mutual respect.

Abdullah Ibrahim demonstrates how it is possible to play the piano while tapping his foot on the ground and having at the same time melancholic sensations. South African, he was discovered in 1962 by Duke Ellington, and in these forty years of career, he has done nothing but try to return musically to where he started, but with hands "dirty" of jazz.