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Abdullah Ibrahim

Person · male · South Africa · Cape Town · born 1934 · died 2026 · recording since 1965

South African pianist and composer (1934–2026)

jazz cape jazz bebop post-bop Afro-jazz folk music

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Also known as Abdullah Abrahim · Abdullah Ibrahim · Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) · Adolph Johannes Brand · Dollar Brand · Dollar Brand / Abdullah Ibrahim · +3 more

Debut: 1965
Recording span: 59 years
Release groups: 102
Awards: 4
Timeline events: 54
Wiki language versions: 30

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Timeline

54 events▣ Album 50◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1✦ Award 1† Death 1

1930s
1. 9 October 1934 · Birth
  Born 1934-10-09
  source: wikidata
1960s
1. 1965 · Debut release
  Debut release: Anatomy of a South African Village
  First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
  source: musicbrainz
2. 1968 · Album
  Album: Hamba Khale
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
1970s
1. 1971 · Album
  Album: Peace
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 1973 · Album
  Album: Dollar Brand + 3
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 1973 · Album
  Album: This Is Dollar Brand
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 1973 · Album
  Album: Sangoma
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
5. 1974 · Album
  Album: Mannenberg ‘Is Where It’s Happening’
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
6. 1974 · Album
  Album: African Breeze
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
7. 1974 · Album
  Album: “Memories”
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
8. 1974 · Album
  Album: African Sketchbook
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
9. 1974 · Album
  Album: African Space Program
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
10. 1974 · Album
  Album: Ode to Duke Ellington
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
11. 1974 · Album
  Album: Underground in Africa
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
12. 1974 · Album
  Album: Good News From Africa
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
13. 1975 · Album
  Album: African Herbs
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
14. 1976 · Album
  Album: Black Lightning
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
15. 1976 · Album
  Album: African Songbird
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
16. 1976 · Album
  Album: Blues for a Hip King
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
17. 1976 · Album
  Album: African Portraits
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
18. 1976 · Album
  Album: Banyana: Children of Africa
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
19. 1977 · Album
  Album: Natural Rhythm
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
20. 1977 · Album
  Album: The Journey
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
21. 1977 · Album
  Album: Buddy Tate Meets Dollar Brand
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
22. 1978 · Album
  Album: Anthem for the New Nations
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
23. 4 October 1978 · Album
  Album: Nisa
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
24. 1979 · Album
  Album: Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
25. 1979 · Album
  Album: Echoes From Africa
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
1980s
1. 1980 · Album
  Album: African Marketplace
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 1981 · Album
  Album: Matsidiso: Piano Solo Live
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. December 1981 · Album
  Album: Duet
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 1983 · Album
  Album: Zimbabwe
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
5. 1983 · Album
  Album: African Dawn
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
6. 17 November 1983 · Album
  Album: Ekaya
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
7. November 1986 · Album
  Album: Water From an Ancient Well
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
8. 1989 · Album
  Album: African River
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
1990s
1. 1991 · Album
  Album: Mantra Mode
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 1992 · Album
  Album: Desert Flowers
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 1993 · Album
  Album: Knysna Blue
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 1997 · Album
  Album: Cape Town Flowers
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
5. 1998 · Album
  Album: African Suite - For Trio and String Orchestra
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
6. 1998 · Album
  Album: Township One More Time
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2000s
1. 2001 · Album
  Album: African Symphony
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 2008 · Album
  Album: Senzo ～先祖
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 2009 · Album
  Album: Bombella: Gold Train - South Africa
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 2009 · Award
  Won: Order of Ikhamanga in Silver
  source: wikidata
2010s
1. 1 October 2010 · Album
  Album: Sotho Blue
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 25 October 2013 · Album
  Album: Mukashi: Once Upon a Time
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 24 October 2014 · Album
  Album: The Song Is My Story
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 28 June 2019 · Album
  Album: The Balance
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
5. 13 September 2019 · Album
  Album: Dream Time
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2020s
1. 26 November 2021 · Album
  Album: Solotude
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 26 January 2024 · Album
  Album: 3
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 15 June 2026 · Death
  Died 2026
  source: wikidata

Biography

English biography1,711 words · 7 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1375357856

Biography

Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand; 9 October 1934 – 15 June 2026), previously known as Dollar Brand, was a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cape Town, ranging from traditional African songs to the gospel of the AME Church and Ragas, to more modern jazz and other Western styles. Ibrahim is considered the leading figure in the subgenre of Cape jazz. Within jazz, his music particularly reflects the influence of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. He is known especially for "Mannenberg", a jazz piece that became an anti-apartheid anthem.
During the apartheid era in the 1960s, Ibrahim moved to New York City and, apart from a brief return to South Africa in the 1970s, remained in exile until the early 1990s. Over the decades, he toured the world extensively, appearing at major venues either as a solo artist or playing with other renowned musicians, including Max Roach, Carlos Ward, and Randy Weston, as well as collaborating with classical orchestras in Europe.
With his wife, the jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin, Ibrahim was father to two children, including the New York underground rapper Jean Grae.

Early life and national career

Ibrahim was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 9 October 1934, and was baptized Adolph Johannes Brand. He attended Trafalgar High School in Cape Town's District Six, and began piano lessons at the age of seven, making his professional debut at 15. He was of mixed-race heritage, making him a Coloured person according to the apartheid system. His mother played piano in a church, the musical style of which would remain an influence on him; in addition, he learned to play several genres of music during his youth in Cape Town, including marabi, mbaqanga, and American jazz. He became well known in jazz circles in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
In 1959 and 1960, Ibrahim played with the Jazz Epistles group in Sophiatown, alongside saxophonists Kippie Moeketsi and Mackay Davashe, trumpeter Hugh Masekela, trombonist Jonas Gwangwa (who were all in the orchestra of the musical King Kong that opened in Johannesburg in February 1959), bassist Johnny Gertze and drummer Makaya Ntshoko; in January 1960, the six musicians went into the Gallo studio and recorded the first full-length jazz LP by Black South African musicians, Jazz Epistle Verse One, with 500 copies being produced. Although the group avoided explicitly political activity, the apartheid government was suspicious of it and other jazz groups, and targeted them heavily during the increase in state repression following the Sharpeville massacre in March 1960, and eventually, the Jazz Epistles broke up.

Early international career

Ibrahim moved to Europe in 1962. In February 1963, his wife-to-be, Sathima Bea Benjamin (they married in 1965), convinced Duke Ellington, who was in Zürich, Switzerland, on a European tour, to come to hear Ibrahim perform as "The Dollar Brand Trio" in Zurich's "Africana Club". After the show, Ellington helped set up a recording session with Reprise Records: Duke Ellington presents The Dollar Brand Trio. Ibrahim subsequently played at many European festivals.
Ibrahim and Benjamin married and moved to New York in 1965 and that year Ibrahim played at the Newport Jazz Festival, followed by a first tour through the United States; in 1966, he substituted for Duke Ellington on five dates, leading the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In 1967, a Rockefeller Foundation grant enabled Ibrahim to study at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. While in the U.S., he interacted with many progressive musicians, among them Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Cecil Taylor, and Archie Shepp. As the Black Power movement developed in the 1960s and 1970s, it influenced a number of Ibrahim's friends and collaborators, who began to see their music as a form of cultural nationalism. Ibrahim, in turn, began to incorporate African elements into his jazz.

Return to South Africa

In 1968, Ibrahim briefly returned to Cape Town, where he converted to Islam that year (with the resultant change of name from Dollar Brand to Abdullah Ibrahim) and in 1970 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca.
He met Rashid Vally at the latter's Kohinoor record shop in Johannesburg in the early 1970s, and Vally produced two of Ibrahim's albums in the following years. The pair produced a third album in 1974, titled Underground in AfricaUnderground in Africa1974 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksAKalahari23:00B1Ornette's Cornet (In Tribute to Ornette Coleman)5:24B2All Day & All Night Long5:28B3Gwidza (In Memory of Campbel Gwidza)4:41, in which Ibrahim abandoned his financially unsuccessful folk-infused jazz of the previous albums. Instead, the new album was a fusion of jazz, rock music, and South African popular music, and sold well. While recording Underground, Ibrahim collaborated with Oswietie, a local band of which Robbie Jansen and Basil Coetzee were saxophonists, and who played a large role in creating the album's fusion style. After the success of Underground, Ibrahim asked Coetzee to bring together a supporting band for his next recording: the group Coetzee put together included Jansen, as well as others who had not worked on Underground. The composition "Mannenberg" was recorded in June 1974 during one of Ibrahim's visits back to South Africa, in a studio in Cape Town, and was produced by Rashid Vally. The track was recorded in one take during a period of collective improvisation. The piece was inspired by the Cape Flats township where many of those forcibly removed from District Six were sent.
The recordings made with Jansen and Coetzee, including "Mannenberg" (renamed "Capetown Fringe" for its United States release), "Black LightningBlack Lightning1976 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksABlack Lightning14:25B1Little Boy8:30B2Black and Brown Cherries7:22B3Blue Monk6:02"; "African HerbsAfrican Herbs1975 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksA1African Herbs10:15A2Sathima11:22BSoweto Is Where It’s At17:40"; and "Soweto Is Where It Is At" – sounds that mirrored and spoke of the defiance in the streets and townships of South Africa – gave impetus to the genre of music known as "Cape Jazz." "Mannenberg" came to be considered "the unofficial national anthem" of South Africa, and the theme tune of the anti-apartheid movement. Saxophonist and flautist Carlos Ward was Ibrahim's sideman in duets during the early 1980s. A few years after the release of "Mannenberg" (released on Brand's 1974 album Mannenberg ~ 'Is Where It's Happening'), South African police fired upon protesting children during the Soweto Uprising that began on 16 June 1976; this event led Ibrahim and Benjamin to publicly express support for the African National Congress, which was still banned at the time, and to help organize an illegal benefit concert.
Soon afterwards returning to the United States and settling in New York, Ibrahim and Sathima founded the record company Ekapa (meaning "Cape Town" in Xhosa) in 1981.
Starting in 1983, Ibrahim led a group called Ekaya (which translates as "home"), as well as various trios, occasional big bands, and other special projects. Ibrahim returned to South Africa after Nelson Mandela convinced him to return in a 1990 meeting in Germany.

Film and television work

Ibrahim wrote the soundtracks for a number of films, including Chocolat (1988), and No Fear, No Die (1990), both directed by Claire Denis.
On 25 November 1989, he made an extended appearance in the British Channel 4 television discussion series After Dark alongside Zoë Wicomb, Donald Woods, Shula Marks, and others. Ibrahim also took part in the 2002 documentary Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, where he and others recalled the days of apartheid; the film's subtitle derives from observations made by Ibrahim.
Ibrahim is the subject of the documentaries A Brother with Perfect Timing (1987) and A Struggle for Love (2005, directed by Ciro Cappellari).

Post-apartheid

Ibrahim worked as a solo performer, typically in unbroken concerts which echoed the unstoppable impetus of the old marabi performers, classical impressionists and snatches of his musical idols – Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Fats Waller. Ibrahim also performed frequently with trios and quartets and larger orchestral units. Returning to South Africa in the early 1990s, he was feted with symphony orchestra performances, one of which was in honour of Nelson Mandela's 1994 inauguration as president. Mandela reportedly referred to him as "our Mozart".
In 1997, Ibrahim collaborated on a tour with drummer Max Roach, and the following year undertook a world tour with the Munich Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 1999, Ibrahim founded the M7 academy for South African musicians in Cape Town and was the initiator of the Cape Town Jazz Orchestra, an 18-piece big band launched in September 2006.

Ibrahim continued to perform internationally, mainly in Europe, and with occasional shows in North America. Reviewing his 2008 concert at London's Barbican Centre – a "monumental" show with the BBC Big Band, featuring vocalists Ian Shaw and Cleveland Watkiss – John Fordham of The Guardian referred to "[Ibrahim's] elder-statesman status as the African Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk combined (and his role as an educator and political campaigner)". He released the solo piano album Senzo, named after his father, in 2008.
In 2016, at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, Ibrahim and Hugh Masekela performed together for the first time in 60 years, reuniting the Jazz Epistles in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the historic 16 June 1976 Soweto youth demonstrations. In 2019, with his group Ekaya, he released The Balance, an album that DownBeat praised, noting that it "spans a wealth of sounds—big band, township music, solo piano ...In content and form, Ibrahim lingers between comfort and edge, pressure and ease."
Reviewing Ibrahim's July 2023 appearance with bassist Noah Jackson and flautist Cleave Guyton at the Barbican Centre in London, Kevin Le Gendre wrote: "Ibrahim's enduring love of the founding fathers of modern jazz is made clear from the outset as the trio starts with rhapsodic versions of two timeless anthems, Ellington's "In A Sentimental Mood" and Coltrane's "Giant Steps", while later on we are treated to a spirited take (on) Monk's 'Skippy'. But in the interim it is Ibrahim's originals that take pride of place, showing how, since the '60s, he has been creating standards of his own that vividly capture the poised dignity of African culture and customs."
His final album, 3, was released in 2024.

Personal life and death

With his wife, the jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin, Ibrahim was father to New York underground rapper Jean Grae (Tsidi), and a son, Tsakwe, an artist.
Ibrahim died in Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany, on 15 June 2026, at the age of 91, after a short illness. His partner Marina Umari said in tribute to him: "Abdullah passed away peacefully with South Africa and its people in his heart. His love for his country never wavered, no matter where in the world he found himself."

Discography & profile

Normalised profile

Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.

Normalised profile metrics with percentile rank
Metric	Value	Percentile
Wikipedia language versions	30	90.4th
Spotify monthly listeners	—	no data
Release groups in DB	102	98th
Studio albums	51	99.3th
Awards recorded	4	96.3th
Timeline events	54	99th
Recording span (years)	59	97.3th
Genres	8	94.5th

Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.

Discography (102 release groups · 51 studio albums)

Albums · 51

Hamba Khale
1968 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 3 tracks · 31:30
A1The Aloe and the Wild Rose14:20
A2Hamba Khale2:05
BTo Elsa / 81st Street15:05
Peace
1971 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 6 tracks · 38:05
A1Shrimp Boats11:50
A2Salaam (Peace)2:06
A3Cherry5:10
B1Tintinyana12:00
B2Just a Song4:09
B3Little Boy2:50
Dollar Brand + 3
1973 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 6 tracks · 35:35
A1African Sun6:10
A2Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro6:10
A3Old Folks5:00
B1Rolling7:25
B2You Are Too Beautiful5:55
B3Memories of You4:55
This Is Dollar Brand
1973 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 35:29
A1Little Niles5:58
A2Resolution3:43
A3Which Way?3:07
A4On the Banks of Allen Waters5:37
B1Knight’s Night5:38
B2Pye R Squared2:52
B3Mood Indigo2:30
B4Don’t Get Around Much Anymore3:00
B5Take the “A” Train3:04
Sangoma
1973 · studio album
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Tracklist · 3 tracks · 44:23
A1The Aloe and the Wild Rose13:30
A2Fats, Duke and the Monk11:23
BAncient Africa19:30
Mannenberg ‘Is Where It’s Happening’
1974 · studio album
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Tracklist · 2 tracks · 26:36
AMannenberg13:36
BThe Pilgrim13:00
African Breeze
1974 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks
A1Nim Vlula (The Rain Song)
A2Msunduza
A3Salaam (Peace)
A4Ancient Africa
A5Salaam (Peace)
B1Single Petal of a Rose
B2Come Sunday
B3Monk From Harlem
B4African Sun
B5Tintinyana
“Memories”
1974 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 38:57
A1Township Sunday: Sunday Mama / Tabu / Mfundisi (African Preacher) / Gwidza4:49
A2Our Son Tsakwe6:26
A3Love Song for Bea: Ekuseni (In the Morning) / Dearest Bea / Blues for Bea / Bertha in Turquoise / Ekuseni7:48
B1Memories: Memories of You / How Deep Is the Ocean / Cry Me a River / Memories of You7:03
B2Carnival2:53
B3Majestic Warriors: Sad Times, Bad Times (From “King Kong”) / Blues for His Majesty King Sobhuza of Swaziland / Sad Times, Bad Times4:55
B4Gafsa - Life Is for the Living, Death Is for Us All5:03
African Sketchbook
1974 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 45:58
1Air4:34
2Salaam - Peace - Hamba Kahle2:21
3Slave Bell1:17
4The Stride3:55
5Mamma1:58
6Krotoa1:09
7Machopi1:32
8Tokai6:40
9The Dream3:05
10The Aloe and the Wild Rose4:53
11Tariq1:43
12Nkosi3:25
13African Sun7:08
14Salaam - Peace - Hamba Kahle2:18
African Space Program
1974 · studio album
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Tracklist · 3 tracks · 42:46
A1Tintinyana, First Part6:58
A2Tintinyana, Second Part13:00
BJabulani - Easter Joy22:48
Ode to Duke Ellington
1974 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 38:01
A1Impressions on a Caravan5:08
A2Solitude4:20
A3Ode to Duke5:08
A4In a Sentimental Mood4:23
B1What Really Happened in the Cornfield Is That the Birds Made Music All the Day and So I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart at Duke’s Place6:33
B2Two Spirituals: From Africa: Saduva / From America: Come Sunday6:30
B3Rose Got It Bad in Harlem: A Single Petal of a Rose / I Got It Bad / Drop Me Off in Harlem5:59
Underground in Africa
1974 · studio album
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Tracklist · 4 tracks · 38:33
AKalahari23:00
B1Ornette's Cornet (In Tribute to Ornette Coleman)5:24
B2All Day & All Night Long5:28
B3Gwidza (In Memory of Campbel Gwidza)4:41
Good News From Africa
1974 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 43:56
1Ntsikana’s Bell6:04
2Msunduza4:37
3Good News /Swazi /Waya-Wa-Egoli7:26
4Adhan and Allah-O-Akbar4:10
5The Pilgrim9:44
6Moniebah / The Pilgrim11:55
African Herbs
1975 · studio album
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Tracklist · 3 tracks · 39:17
A1African Herbs10:15
A2Sathima11:22
BSoweto Is Where It’s At17:40
Black Lightning
1976 · studio album
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Tracklist · 4 tracks · 36:19
ABlack Lightning14:25
B1Little Boy8:30
B2Black and Brown Cherries7:22
B3Blue Monk6:02
African Songbird
1976 · studio album
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Tracklist · 3 tracks · 35:08
AAfrica21:12
B1Music8:46
B2African Songbird5:10
Blues for a Hip King
1976 · studio album
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Tracklist · 4 tracks · 41:16
A1Monk in Harlem13:32
A2Sweet Basil Blues6:17
B1Tsakwe Here Comes the Postman11:43
B2Blues for a Hip King9:44
African Portraits
1976 · studio album
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Tracklist · 2 tracks · 45:28
ACherry / Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro21:18
BAfrican Portraits (Blues for Hugie, Kipppie, Gafsa, Gwangwa, Little Boy, Easter Joy, Jabulani, Xaba)24:10
Banyana: Children of Africa
1976 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 45:46
A1Banyana - The Children of Africa1:59
A2Asr8:14
A3Ishmael12:14
B1The Honey-Bird6:19
B2The Dream6:40
B3Yukio-Khalifa10:20
Natural Rhythm
1977 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 38:29
A1Kentucky8:37
A2Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen6:50
A3Ntyilo Ntyilo4:52
B1Thaba Nchu8:50
B2Blues For B7:30
B3Largo1:50
The Journey
1977 · studio album
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Tracklist · 3 tracks · 44:07
A1Sister Rosie4:33
A2Jabulani (Joy)17:38
BHajj (The Journey)21:56
Buddy Tate Meets Dollar Brand
1977 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 42:01
A1Goduka Mfundi (Going Home)7:16
A2Heyt Mazurki6:50
A3Poor Butterfly8:23
B1In a Sentimental Mood7:32
B2Doggin’ Around4:38
B3Just You, Just Me7:22
Anthem for the New Nations
1978 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 39:14
A1Anthem For The New Nations3:56
A2Biral5:28
A3Liberation Dance2:49
A4The Trial4:02
A5Cape Town3:09
B1The Wedding Suite: Lovers / I Surrender Dear / One Day When We Were Young15:27
B2Thaba Nchu (Mountain Lesotho)4:23
Nisa
1978 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks
A1Nisa The Woman
A2Kariba Blue
A3The Touch Of Your Lips
B1Matsidiso
B2New York City
B3The Wedding-Cape Town
Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro
1979 · studio album
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Tracklist · 2 tracks · 39:50
ABra Joe From Kilimanjaro19:30
BKamalie20:20
Echoes From Africa
1979 · studio album
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Tracklist · 4 tracks · 31:45
ANamhanje (Today)16:54
B1Lakutshonilanga (When the Sun Sets)3:32
B2Saud (Dedicated to McCoy Tyner)5:54
B3Zikr (Remembrance of Allah)5:25
African Marketplace
1980 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 40:09
A1Whoza Mtwana6:49
A2The Homecoming Song4:11
A3The Wedding4:16
A4Moniebeh3:44
B1African Marketplace7:53
B2Mamma4:14
B3Anthem for the New Nation5:02
B4Ubu Suku4:00
Matsidiso: Piano Solo Live
1981 · studio album
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Tracklist · 2 tracks · 50:04
AMatsidiso / Ballad (Love Song) / Dawn / Tariqa / African Marketplace / Did You Hear that Sound / The Wedding24:23
BEasy Living / Well You Needn’t / Off Minor / Round Midnight / Ishmael- Blues for a Hip King / Matsidiso25:41
Duet
1981 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 44:13
A1Fortunato7:37
A2Barefoot Boy From Queens Town - To Mongezi7:45
A3Left Alone7:51
B1Theme From "Proof of the Man"8:12
B2Ubu-Suku4:30
B3Moniebah8:18
Zimbabwe
1983 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 41:18
A1Kramat6:36
A2Guilty5:09
A3Bombella6:26
A4Don’t Blame Me3:50
B1Zimbabwe5:27
B2It Never Entered My Mind5:02
B3For Coltrane, No. Il8:48
African Dawn
1983 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 42:51
A1Blues for a Hip King5:41
A2A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing4:29
A3African Dawn4:26
A4African Piano6:42
B1For Monk4:35
B2Round About Midnight5:24
B3Blue Monk4:16
B4For Coltrane7:18
Ekaya
1983 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 37:51
A1Ekaya7:40
A2Sotho Blue5:40
A3Ntyilo, Ntyilo4:27
B1Bra Timing From Phomolong5:07
B2Ek Se Ou Windhoek Toe Nou8:03
B3Cape Town6:54
Water From an Ancient Well
1986 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 46:43
1Mandela4:59
2Song for Sathima6:12
3Manenberg Revisited6:11
4Tuang Guru5:26
5Water From an Ancient Well11:58
6The Wedding2:41
7The Mountain3:21
8Sameeda5:55
African River
1989 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 45:39
1Toi-Toi3:31
2African River9:48
3Joan - Cape Town Flower5:50
4Chisa4:28
5Sweet Samba5:57
6Duke 888:31
7The Wedding4:00
8The Mountain of the Night3:34
Mantra Mode
1991 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 40:10
1Bayi Lam4:20
2Dindela5:34
3Barakaat3:30
4Tafelberg Samba / Carnival Samba6:59
5Mantra Mode9:30
6Beautiful Love4:06
7Tskave / Royal Blue6:11
Desert Flowers
1992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 53:15
1The Praise Song4:53
2Just Arrived4:53
3Ancient Cape4:35
4Desert Air4:56
5Come Sunday3:59
6District Six4:34
7Sweet Devotion6:02
8Edie4:03
9For John Coltrane7:58
10Tsidi3:13
11Mizu / Water4:09
Knysna Blue
1993 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 43:49
1Knysna Blue15:46
2You Can’t Stop Me Now5:33
3Peace3:56
4Three #13:13
5Kofifi2:51
6Three #23:00
7Cape Town6:32
8Ask Me Now2:58
Cape Town Flowers
1997 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 50:56
1Excursions2:52
2Eleventh Hour4:22
3Kofifi Blue2:38
4Chisa3:59
5Song for Aggerey3:28
6The Stride3:20
7The Call4:45
8African Marketplace5:25
9Joan – Cape Town Flower9:30
10Maraba Blue4:35
11Monk in Harlem6:02
African Suite - For Trio and String Orchestra
1998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 50:11
1Mindif6:40
2Ishmael2:34
3Tsakwe5:36
4The Call6:44
5Damara Blue2:22
6The Wedding4:53
7Blanton (Orchestra Only)1:53
8Aspen (Piano Solo)4:32
9Barakaat4:55
10Tintinyana5:55
11The Mountain of the Night4:07
Township One More Time
1998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:01:08
1Township One More Time7:34
2Chisa8:59
3Shosholoza (Trio)3:51
4Timer (Trio)2:59
5Someday Soon Sweet Samba7:49
6The Minstrel (Trio)3:26
7Shosholoza/Oudtshoorn Medley4:23
8Minstrel (Full Band)8:10
9Genadendal (Valley of Grace)1:31
10Timer (with Sax)2:28
11Chisa (with Baritone)6:11
12Lekker Lekkers (Nice Sweets)3:47
African Symphony
2001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 52:48
1Ritus8:27
2Damara Blue2:09
3Mountain in the Night4:41
4The Call6:04
5Blanton2:08
6Ishmael3:09
7Barakaat5:23
8Tintinyana6:31
9The Wedding4:24
10Mindif7:00
11African Marketplace2:52
Senzo ～先祖
2008 · studio album
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Tracklist · 22 tracks · 57:06
1Ocean & the River2:45
2In the Evening3:05
3Blues for Bea0:52
4Prelude ’For Coltrane‘0:54
5Aspen1:13
6Blues for a Hip King6:02
7Third Line Samba2:09
8Tookah1:25
9Pula1:31
10For Coltrane5:06
11Dust1:05
12Corridors Radiant1:17
13Jabulani1:04
14Dust (reprise)5:13
15Nisa6:15
16’Senzo‘ – Contours and Time2:29
17Meditation / Mummy2:16
18Banyana, Children of Africa0:51
19Mamma1:04
20Blue Bolero6:06
21In a Sentimental Mood3:01
22Ocean & the River1:23
Bombella: Gold Train - South Africa
2009 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:14:29
1Green Kalahari2:36
2Song for Sathima6:41
3Mandela7:04
4District Six (Trance Circle dance)10:28
5Bombella6:09
6Meditation - Joan Capetown Flower (Emerald Bay)10:08
7I Mean You / For Monk14:05
8For Lawrence Brown (Remembrance)2:56
9Excursions (Masters and Muses)7:37
10African River6:45
Sotho Blue
2010 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 49:27
1Calypso Minor6:24
2Sotho blue5:27
3Abide2:52
4Nisa6:32
5The Mountain2:54
6The Wedding3:47
7Glass Enclosure7:00
8Stardance5:09
9Joan Capetown Flower (Emerald Bay)9:22
Mukashi: Once Upon a Time
2013 · studio album
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Tracklist · 16 tracks · 56:55
1Mukashi1:02
2Dream Time3:31
3The Stars Will Remember4:35
4Serenity3:59
5Mississippi4:38
6Peace4:18
7Matzikama4:35
8Cara Mia3:08
9Root3:40
10Trace Elements for Monk5:41
11Krotoa - Crystal Clear4:00
12Krotoa - Devotion1:55
13Krotoa - Endurance1:24
14In the Evening3:37
15Essence2:14
16The Balance4:38
The Song Is My Story
2014 · studio album
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Tracklist · 18 tracks · 1:36:13
Disc 117 tracks · 39:56
1Celestial Bird Dance1:18
2Threshold3:23
3Open Door - Within3:47
4Unfettered - Muken1:53
5Spiral Mist2:15
6Just Arrived3:30
7Kalahari Pleiades6:09
8For Coltrane0:57
9Twelve by Twelve1:39
10Shadows Lean Against My Song1:53
11The Song Is My Story - URA1:33
12Marinska2:16
13African Dawn0:39
14Eclipse at Dawn2:02
15Phambili - Looking Ahead1:41
16For Coltrane4:28
17Children Dance0:33
Disc 21 tracks · 56:17
1Abdullah Ibrahim - The Song Is My Story56:17
The Balance
2019 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 41:00
1Dreamtime4:06
2Nisa6:37
3Jabula3:43
4Tuang Guru5:11
5Tonegawa3:33
6Song for Sathima4:11
7ZB22:04
8Skippy5:35
9Devotion2:56
10The Balance3:04
Dream Time
2019 · studio album
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Tracklist · 20 tracks · 1:09:09
1Trieste My Love1:12
2Genesis1:01
3For Coltrane4:13
4Blue Bolero (Blue Bolero I)2:41
5Nisa9:39
6Blue Bolero (Blue Bolero II)0:36
7Capetown District Six3:40
8Sotho Blue3:36
9Machopi0:09
10Whoza Mtwana2:25
11Blues for a Hip King8:05
12Dream Time2:58
13In the Evening3:05
14Song for Lawrence Brown2:06
15Blue Bolero (Blue Bolero III)1:20
16Dedication to Duke Ellington7:49
17The Balance3:03
18Aspen1:30
19Did You Hear That Sound2:53
20Blue Bolero (Blue Bolero IV)7:08
Solotude
2021 · studio album
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Tracklist · 20 tracks · 42:43
1Mindiff3:10
2Trieste My Love1:56
3Nisa2:25
4Blue Bolero2:09
5In-Tempo5:05
6Dreamtime2:31
7Blue Bolero (First Reprise)0:39
8Peace1:50
9Blues For A Hip King1:06
10District 61:02
11Tokai0:40
12District 6 (Reprise)0:15
13Pula0:42
14Sotho Blue3:21
15Blue Bolero (Second Reprise)0:23
16Did You Hear That Sound?1:29
17In The Evening1:33
18Once Upon A Midnight6:28
19The Wedding4:53
20Signal On The Hill1:06
3
2024 · studio album
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Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:48:09
Disc 110 tracks · 51:37
1Barakat3:28
2Tsakwe1:43
3Krotoa - Crystal Clear3:55
4Maraba2:31
5Ishmael1:43
6Mindif4:26
7In a Sentimental Mood (live)6:24
8Giant Steps (live)3:19
9Reprise 1 (live)15:12
10Water From an Ancient Well (live)8:56
Disc 29 tracks · 56:32
1Nisa (live)6:01
2The Wedding (live)5:14
3Tuang Guru (live)7:33
4Reprise 2 (live)15:38
5Dreamtime (live)4:23
6Skippy (live)6:29
7Blue Bolero (live)1:06
8Mindif (live)7:00
9Trance-Mission (live)3:08
2017-11-04: Zürich, Switzerland
— · studio album
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Tracklist · 3 tracks · 1:20:22
1Blue Bolero / Water From an Ancient Well / Nisa / Mindif35:40
2Sotho Blue / The Wedding / Did You Hear That Sound39:35
3Encore5:07

Album · 49

Album release groups, by first release date
Year	Title	Notes	First release
1965	Anatomy of a South African VillageSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 5 tracks · 39:09 A1Anatomy of a South African Village15:11 A2Light Blue6:56 B1Tintinyana4:31 B2Honey6:01 B3'Round Midnight6:30	Live	1965
1970	African PianoSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 9 tracks A1Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro A2Selby That the Eternal Spirit Is the Only Reality A3The Moon A4Xaba B1Sunset in Blue B2Kippy B3Jabulani - Easter Joy B4Tintiyana B5Flute Behold the Night and Day Gently They Give Way to Each Other Dear Brother	Live	1970
1974	The Third World-UndergroundSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 7 tracks A1Don’s Song A2Cherry B1Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro B2Jabulani-Easter Joy B3Waya-Wa-Egoli B4Swazi B5Wayeah-Wayeah-O	Live	1974
1974	Ancient AfricaSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 45:00 1Medley (Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro, Gwangwa, Mamma, Tokai, [untitled], Llanga, Cherry, African Sun)23:05 2Medley (Tintinyana, Xaba, Peace - Salaam- Hamba Khale, Nimvula, Koisan)21:55	Live	1974
1980	Dollar Brand at MontreuxSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 6 tracks · 41:16 A1Tsakwe1:44 A2Whoza Mtwana8:46 A3The Homecoming Song7:35 A4The Wedding3:34 B1The Perfumed Forest Wet With Rain9:36 B2Ishmael10:01	Live	1980
1980	The DreamSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 6 tracks · 35:33 A1The Stride9:35 A2Smoke Gets In Your Eyes2:20 A3The Dream7:48 B1Tintinyana4:26 B2Obluegato6:49 B3Honey4:35	Live	1980
1982	South African SunshineSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 13 tracks A1Tula Dubula A2Hit and Run A3Soweto A4Ntyilo-Ntyilo A5Children of Africa A6Goduka A7Thaba Nchu A8Blue Boys Brigade A9Shrimp Boats, Part 1 B1Shrimp Boats, Part 2 B2Touch of Your Lips B3New York City B4Chelsea Bridge	Live	1982
1983	Live at Sweet Basil, Vol. 1.Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 11 tracks · 12:30 A1The Dream A2And Find Me a Shelter in the Storm A3Mummy A4For Coltrane I / For Coltrane II / New York City B1Anthem for the New Nation5:28 B2Gwangwa B3Theme From “King Kong” B4Black Lightning B5Gwizda B6The Stride B7Soweto7:02	Live	1983
1983	AutobiographySearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:16:35 Disc 15 tracks · 27:46 A1Anthem5:11 A2Moniebah3:46 A3Ishmael7:15 B1Little Boy9:04 B2The Dream2:30 Disc 28 tracks · 48:49 C1I Surrender Dear2:19 C2Duke Ellington Medley12:33 C3Take the A-Train1:13 C4Coming on the Hudson9:01 D1Mannenberg2:30 D2Children of Africa2:04 D3Anthem13:41 D4Khoisan5:28	Live	1983
1986	The PilgrimSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 6 tracks · 55:30 1The Pilgrim9:50 2Ntsikana’s Bell6:15 3Msunduza4:37 4Namhanje16:54 5Saud5:54 6Moniebah / The Pilgrim12:00	Compilation	1986
1986	South AfricaSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 11 tracks · 52:12 1Thaba Bosigo (Mountain of the Night)4:22 2Siya Hamba Namhlanje (We Are Leaving Today)3:28 3Iza-Ne Zembe Gawuale (Bring the Axe)4:11 4Black and Brown Cherries8:00 5Our Loving Family6:13 6African Dawn - For Monk8:00 7Zimbabwe4:22 8Elsie's River6:04 9Pancakes0:46 10Capetown Carnival4:04 11Thaba Bosigo2:42	Live	1986
1986	Duke's MemoriesSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 9 tracks · 42:09 1Star Crossed Lovers6:12 2Water Edge6:11 3Virgin Jungle4:12 4Way Way Back4:23 5The Wedding3:35 6Black and Brown Cherries3:57 7For Coltrane3:24 8In a Sentimental Mood3:10 9Angelica / Purple Gazelle7:05	Live	1986
1988	African SunSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks 1African Sun 2Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro 3Rolling 4Memories of You 5Sathima 6African Herbs 7Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen 8Blues for B 9Gwidza 10Kamalie	Compilation	1988
1988	TintinyanaSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 8 tracks 1Soweto Is Where It’s At 2Tintinyana 3Little Boy 4Cherry 5Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro 6Shrimp Boats 7Salaam 8Just a Song	Compilation	1988
1988	Voice of AfricaSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 6 tracks · 1:01:45 1Black Lightning14:28 2Little Boy8:31 3Black and Brown Cherries7:26 4Ntyilo Ntyilo4:54 5Mannenberg Is Where It’s Happening (Cape Town Fringe)13:38 6The Pilgrim12:48	Compilation	1988
1988	Blues for a Hip KingSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:13:25 1Ornette’s Cornet5:24 2All Day & All Night Long5:28 3Sweet Basil Blues6:22 4Blue Monk6:06 5Tsakwe Here Comes the Postman11:46 6Blues for a Hip King9:47 7Blues for B3:28 8Misterioso4:42 9Just You, Just Me4:59 10Eclipse at Dawn4:03 11King Kong5:25 12Khumbula Jane5:55	Compilation	1988
1988	MindifSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 8 tracks · 39:24 1Earth Bird3:03 2African Market8:21 3Mindif6:48 4Pule (Rain)4:54 5Protee4:41 6Star Dance5:01 7Theme for Mark3:28 8Serenity (The Daybreak Song)3:08	Soundtrack	1988
1988	Round Midnight at the MontmartreSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 8 tracks · 49:54 1The Stride9:35 2Tintinyana4:26 3Obluegato6:49 4The Dream7:55 5Honey4:36 6Round Midnight6:27 7Airolo Blue3:14 8Light Blue6:52	Live	September 1988
1989	The MountainSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 53:54 1The Mountain3:24 2Bra Timing From Phomolong5:21 3Ekaya7:59 4Sotho Blue5:57 5Tuan Guru5:27 6Ntyilo Ntyilo4:41 7Nelson Mandela5:00 8The Wedding2:42 9Mannenberg (Revisited)6:12 10Cape Town7:11	Compilation	1989
1990	Good News From AfricaSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 21 tracks · 2:00:22 Disc 19 tracks · 59:45 1Namhlanje16:53 2Zikr (Remembrance of Allah)5:27 3Tsakwe1:32 4The Perfumed Forest Wet With Rain4:00 5Liberation Dance (When Tarzan Met the African Freedom Fighter)4:34 6Ntsikana’s Bell6:07 7Adhan & Allah-O-Akbar4:12 8Banyana - The Children of Africa2:02 9Ishmael14:58 Disc 212 tracks · 1:00:37 1Thaba Bosigo (Mountain of the Night)4:20 2Siya Hamba Namhlanje (We Are Leaving Today)3:28 3Iza-Ne Zembe Gawuale (Bring the Ax)4:11 4Black and Brown Cherries7:56 5Blues for a Hip King5:43 6For Coltrane7:18 7Joan - Cape Town Flower5:46 8The Wedding3:55 9The Mountain of the Night3:34 10Earth Bird3:02 11African Market8:17 12Serenity (The Daybreak Song)3:07	Compilation	1990
1990	Live (Jazzbühne Berlin)Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 1:03:24 1Liberation Suite52:43 2Medley10:41	Live	1990
1992	Fats • Duke & The MonkSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 3 tracks · 53:54 1Salaam (Peace)18:32 2Fats, Duke & the Monk11:24 3African Portraits23:58	Compilation	1992
1993	Abdullah IbrahimSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:10:21 1African Piano6:44 2Manenberg Revisited6:12 3Bayi Lam4:19 4The Homecoming Song7:19 5Don't Blame Me3:51 6Iza-Ne Zembe Gawuale (Bring The Ax)4:13 7Black And Brown Cherries7:56 8Banyana2:05 9The Wedding3:55 10Toi-Toi3:30 11Meditations5:11 12Calypso Major6:45 13Pule (Rain)4:54 14Zikr3:27	Compilation	August 1993
1994	Ancient AfricaSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 3 tracks · 54:14 1Ancient Africa19:31 2The Aloe and the Wild Rose13:30 3Cherry/Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro21:13	Compilation	1994
1995	Piano SoloSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 23 tracks · 1:19:09 1Matsidiso3:35 2Ballad (Love Song)2:17 3Dawn4:28 4Tariqa1:54 5African Market Place5:42 6Did You Hear That Sound1:39 7The Wedding4:29 8Easy Living2:47 9Well You Needn’t2:13 10Off Minor3:17 11Round Midnight3:06 12Ishmael6:57 13Blues for a Hip King5:36 14Tula Dubula6:42 15Hit and Run0:57 16Soweto2:05 17Ntyilo-Ntyilo3:47 18Children of Africa2:27 19Goduka2:11 20Blue Boys Brigade1:38 21Touch of Your Lips3:19 22New York City4:38 23Chelsea Bridge3:25	Compilation	1995
1996	Pre Abdullah IbrahimSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 52:19 1Little Niles6:07 2Resolution4:52 3Which Way3:12 4On the Banks of Allen Waters5:42 5Knight's Nights 6Pye R Squared2:59 7Ellington Medley: Mood Indigo / Don't Get Around Much Anymore / Take the "A" Train8:39 8The Stride9:43 9Tintinyana4:24 10Obluegato6:41	Compilation	1996
2000	Cape Town Songs: The Very Best of Abdullah IbrahimSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:05:54 1Imam6:10 2Zikr5:28 3For Monk4:40 4Zimbabwe4:18 5Mandela4:59 6The Mountain3:21 7Pule (Rain)4:53 8Chisa4:25 9Toi-Toi3:28 10Calypso Minor4:58 11Tsidi3:15 12Cape Town6:29 13African Marketplace5:23 14Mountain of the Night4:07	Compilation	2000
2001	Ekapa LodumoSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:11:14 1Kramat7:43 2Announcement0:15 3Mindif12:04 4Announcement0:10 5Black and Brown Cherries9:35 6Announcement0:15 7Pule12:03 8Announcement0:07 9African Market16:41 10Whoza Mtwana4:53 11Announcement0:21 12Duke 887:07	Live	2001
2002	African MagicSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 24 tracks · 54:37 1Blue Bolero (Fragment 1)0:26 2Third Samba2:55 3Blue Bolero (Fragment 2)0:17 4Blues for a Hip King3:16 5District Six1:51 6Tuang Guru3:59 7Blue Bolero (Fragment 3)0:15 8Joan - Cape Town Flower3:39 9Pule1:40 10The Stride3:12 11Thaba Bosigo2:23 12The Mountain2:20 13Machopi / Jabulani0:41 14Black Lightning1:10 15Duke4:00 16Solitude0:17 17Eleventh Hour2:41 18Blue Bolero (Fragment 4)0:14 19In a Sentimental Mood2:52 20Moten Swing0:33 21For Coltrane6:14 22Whoza Mtwana2:21 23Tsakwe / Royal Blue3:20 24Blue Bolero4:01	Live	2002
2002	No Fear, No Die (S'en fout la mort))Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 7 tracks · 45:34 1Calypso Minor5:00 2Angelica6:29 3Meditation, ii3:38 4Nisa12:25 5Kata7:48 6Meditation, i5:11 7Calypso Major5:03	Soundtrack	2002
2002	Best of Abdullah IbrahimSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:14:05 1Bra Timing from Phomolong5:17 2Mannenberg13:35 3Bayi Lam4:16 4Blues for a Hip King9:44 5Woza Mtwana6:27 6Little Boy8:27 7Tintinyana8:31 8The Wedding2:38 9African Sun6:11 10Chisa8:59	Compilation	19 March 2002
2004	A CelebrationSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:09:00 1Ntsikana’s Bell6:09 2Ishmael6:19 3The Perfumed Garden Wet With Rain4:02 4Imam6:11 5Saud5:58 6Earth Bird3:07 7African Marketplace8:23 8Ancient Cape4:40 9The Mountain3:23 10Siya Hamba Namhlanje3:33 11Mannenberg Revisited6:14 12Mindif6:42 13Calypso Minor Remixed4:19	Compilation	2004
2004	re:Brahim: Abdullah Ibrahim RemixedSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 9 tracks · 47:21 1Calypso Minor4:22 2Did You Hear That Sound6:50 3Ishmael6:23 4The Call6:28 5Blues for a Hip King3:09 6Mindif (Bigband version)4:56 7Sweet Samba5:56 8Damara Blue4:48 9Mindif (Trio version)4:29	Remix	25 October 2004
2005	African HornsSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 6 tracks · 49:21 1Next Stop Soweto4:47 2Tshona11:48 3Black and Brown Cherries7:32 4Tegeni8:54 5Msunduza7:36 6Mafutha8:44	Compilation	2005
2010	1987-05-18: Gardner Arts Centre, University of Sussex, Brighton, EnglandSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:38:23 Disc 15 tracks · 46:06 1The Mountain4:01 2Jacaranda Blue11:57 3Tuan Guru4:23 4Mandela14:12 5Zimbabwe11:33 Disc 26 tracks · 52:17 1[unknown]13:37 2African Flower (Ellington)3:37 3For Monk4:33 4For Coltrane15:42 5Mannenberg10:32 6The Wedding4:16	Live	30 November 2010
2012	1988-07-01: Lugano, SwitzerlandSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:29:11 Disc 17 tracks · 1:01:06 1The Mountain (Theme)2:39 2Cape Town10:53 3[unknown] [Dedicated to Ellington]12:40 4Brilliant Corners [Dedicated to Monk]12:08 5[unknown] >4:53 6Zimbabwe >7:56 7There’ll Come a Time > Band Intros9:57 Disc 23 tracks · 28:05 1Water From an Ancient Well14:53 2Tuang Guru >9:41 3The Wedding3:31	Live	2 October 2012
2014	African Jazz ClassicsSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 14 tracks · 1:18:29 1Blues for a Hip King5:44 2Siya Hamba Namhlanje (We Are Leaving Today)3:29 3Calypso Minor4:58 4Water from an Ancient Well11:56 5Mannenberg Revisited6:09 6Toi-Toi3:28 7African Market8:19 8Kramat6:38 9Someday Soon Sweet Samba4:48 10Blue Bolero4:02 11Earth Bird3:05 12Imam6:09 13Ntsikana's Bell6:07 14Lakutshonilanga (When the Sun Sets)3:37	Compilation	2014
2015	Dollar Brand Plays Sphere Jazz / Jazz Epistle – Verse 1Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 15 tracks · 1:18:58 1Boulevard East6:51 2Khumbula Jane5:57 3Sad Times, Bad Times / King Kong5:27 4Blues for B3:30 5Misterioso4:44 6Just You, Just Me5:01 7Eclipse at Dawn4:05 8Dollar’s Moods5:34 9Blues for Hughie6:00 10Uku-Jonga Phambili (Meaning “Looking Forward”)3:52 11I Remember Billy6:06 12Vary-Oo-Vum5:07 13Carol’s Drive5:18 14Gafsa4:25 15Scullery Department7:01	Compilation	5 October 2015
2018	2003: NDR Studio, Hamburg, Germany (FM)Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 5 tracks · 26:29 1Someday Soon Sweet Samba4:58 2Song for Sathima6:25 3Mandela3:16 4Blues for a Hip King6:52 5Mannenberg4:58	Live	August 2018
2019	Universal SilenceSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:18:29 Disc 16 tracks · 39:10 A1Waya-Wa-Egoli6:39 A2Berimbao6:48 A3Introduction2:23 A4Air4:55 B1African Piano13:07 B2African Session5:18 Disc 24 tracks · 39:19 C1Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro7:37 C2Cherry6:50 C3Session5:01 DWaya Session19:51	Live	April 2019
2021	1985-03-23: 11th Street Theatre, Chicago, ILSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 7 tracks · 1:12:30 1[untitled]12:07 2Dedication to Duke Ellington (I’ve Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good > )14:25 3Dedication to Thelonious Monk17:59 4SoWeTo7:59 5//10:05 6[untitled]3:46 7[untitled]6:09	Live	2021
2022	TrioSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 6 tracks · 43:58 1Universal Silence 4, Part 26:15 2Universal Silence 514:26 3Universal Silence 65:02 4Universal Silence 75:44 5Universal Silence 810:47 6Universal Silence Encore1:44	Live	16 July 2022
—	1978-11-10: Pre-Estival Jazz, Lugano, Trevano Aula MagnaSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 3 tracks · 1:19:48 1Medley: Children of Africa / Yukio Khalifa / The Pilgrim / Ishmael / Little Boy / Cape Town Prince / Moniebah / Sathima / Ubu-Suku45:46 2Medley: The Dream / Soweto / Tintinyana18:14 3Medley: Goduka Mfundi / Xaba15:48	Live	—
—	1982-02-14: Festival des politischen LiedesSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 1 track · 55:53 1[untitled]55:53	Live	—
—	2015-03-09: Adelaide, AustraliaSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 48:52 1[unknown]39:23 2[unknown]9:29	Live	—
—	2015-03-10: Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide, AustraliaSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 1:14:19 1[unknown]55:45 2[unknown]18:34	Live	—
—	2017-07-30: Glatt & Verkehrt Festival, Krems, AustriaSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 1 track · 1:13:15 1Medley: The Mountain / Nisa / Sotho Blue / The Wedding / Mindif / Water From an Ancient Well / Tuang Guru / Did You Hear That Sound1:13:15	Live	—
—	Jazz Festival Willisau 1995Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 9 tracks · 1:56:15 Disc 13 tracks · 1:08:07 1Namibia4:15 2Willisau Suite56:32 3[unknown]7:20 Disc 26 tracks · 48:08 1[unknown]12:46 2[unknown]3:09 3African Marketplace11:56 4[unknown]6:24 5Whoza Mtwana6:23 6[unknown]7:30	Live	—
—	2015-10-21: Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MISearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:44:12 1[unknown]0:42 2[unknown]32:14 3[unknown]3:13 4[unknown]28:32 5[unknown]24:18 6[unknown]4:39 7[unknown]10:04 8[unknown]0:30	Live	—

EP · 1

EP release groups, by first release date
Cover	Year	Title	Notes	First release
	2019	Paste Studios (New York, New York) 08/05/2019Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 5:16 1Dreamtime2:49 2Nisa2:27	Live	2019

Broadcast · 1

Broadcast release groups, by first release date
Cover	Year	Title	Notes	First release
	—	Hamburg & Copenhagen 1968, 1969, 1972.Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:09:21 1Hamba Kahle2:40 2Announcement0:44 3The Aloe and the Wild Rose14:12 4Announcement0:35 5Portrait of a Bushman7:36 6Announcement0:26 7Jabulani6:48 8Tokai9:56 9Tintiyana15:29 10Interview/ Waya Wa Egoli / The Pilgrim / Tantra / Bra Joe from Kilimanjaro10:55	Live	—

Stats & PK

Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Abdullah Ibrahim head-to-head →

Abdullah Ibrahim metrics with percentile rank among published artists
Metric	Value	Percentile
Wikipedia language versions	30	90.4th
Spotify monthly listeners	—	no data
Release groups in DB	102	98th
Studio albums	51	99.3th
Awards recorded	4	96.3th
Timeline events	54	99th
Recording span (years)	59	97.3th
Genres	8	94.5th

Awards & honours

Awards and honours, by year
Year	Award	Result
2009	Order of Ikhamanga in Silver	won
2009	Order of Ikhamanga in Silver	won
—	NEA Jazz Masters	won
—	NEA Jazz Masters	won

Line-up

Band line-up and band memberships with dates
Name	From	To	Role
Jazz Epistles(band)	—	present
Abdullah Ibrahim Trio(band)	—	present	eponymous,original
Dollar Brand Trio(band)	—	present	eponymous,original,piano
Dollar Brand Orchestra(band)	—	present	eponymous,original,piano
Dollar Brand Duo(band)	—	present	eponymous,original,other vocals,piano
Dollar Brand Quartet(band)	—	present	eponymous,original,piano
Dollar Brand Quartet(band)	—	present	eponymous,original,saxophone
Dollar Brand Quartet(band)	—	present	eponymous,lead vocals,original
South African Quintet(band)	—	present	piano
South African Quintet(band)	—	present	lead vocals

Where this record comes from

portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abdullah_Ibrahim_Oslo_Jazzfestival_%28191335%29_%28cropped%29.jpg
aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/fd64e185-9973-44d5-ad09-5d5562804292
discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/fd64e185-9973-44d5-ad09-5d5562804292
core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q317677
genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q317677
seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Ibrahim
biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Ibrahim

Why this artist is in the database

List of South African musicians

Tier rule: historic figure (30 language versions, career ended)
Image: Tore Sætre · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q317677 · MusicBrainz: fd64e185-9973-44d5-ad09-5d5562804292

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Timeline

1930s

Born 1934-10-09

1960s

Debut release: Anatomy of a South African Village

Album: Hamba Khale

1970s

Album: Peace

Album: Dollar Brand + 3

Album: This Is Dollar Brand

Album: Sangoma

Album: Mannenberg ‘Is Where It’s Happening’

Album: African Breeze

Album: “Memories”

Album: African Sketchbook

Album: African Space Program

Album: Ode to Duke Ellington

Album: Underground in Africa

Album: Good News From Africa

Album: African Herbs

Album: Black Lightning

Album: African Songbird

Album: Blues for a Hip King

Album: African Portraits

Album: Banyana: Children of Africa

Album: Natural Rhythm

Album: The Journey

Album: Buddy Tate Meets Dollar Brand

Album: Anthem for the New Nations

Album: Nisa

Album: Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro

Album: Echoes From Africa

1980s

Album: African Marketplace

Album: Matsidiso: Piano Solo Live

Album: Duet

Album: Zimbabwe

Album: African Dawn

Album: Ekaya

Album: Water From an Ancient Well

Album: African River

1990s

Album: Mantra Mode

Album: Desert Flowers

Album: Knysna Blue

Album: Cape Town Flowers

Album: African Suite - For Trio and String Orchestra

Album: Township One More Time

2000s

Album: African Symphony

Album: Senzo ～先祖

Album: Bombella: Gold Train - South Africa

Won: Order of Ikhamanga in Silver

2010s

Album: Sotho Blue

Album: Mukashi: Once Upon a Time

Album: The Song Is My Story

Album: The Balance

Album: Dream Time

2020s

Album: Solotude

Album: 3

Died 2026

Biography

Biography

Early life and national career

Early international career

Return to South Africa

Film and television work

Post-apartheid

Personal life and death

Discography & profile

Normalised profile

Discography (102 release groups · 51 studio albums)

Albums · 51

Album · 49

EP · 1

Broadcast · 1

Stats & PK

Awards & honours