The Song Is My Story [Vinyl 1LP]

Jazz / Ethno Jazz / World Jazz
premiera polska: 14.07.2015
opakowanie: gatefold
opis:
multikulti.com:
„The Song Is My Story” wieńczy długiej kariery jednego z najważniejszych pianistów światowego jazzu. To niejako muzyczna kronika 80-letniego już życia afrykańskiego muzyka.
Pianistyka Abdullaha Ibrahima jest nieporównywalna i na swój sposób jedyna: od zaśpiewów ellingtonowskich" po frazy czerpane wprost z Arta Tatuma, subtelności akordów Keith Jarreta, ludyczność Oscara Petersona i swing Errola Garnera.
Jego występy mają wielką siłę oddziaływania, starannie dobierane przez niego akordy, a właściwie zawarte w nich emocje mają magnetyczną moc, konsekwentnie dozuje przeróżne brzmienia, opowiada różne historie i powoli wprowadza słuchacza w kontemplacyjny nastrój. Jego skupiona postawa emanuje wewnętrznym spokojem ale także radością i pasją.

„The Song Is My Story” to blisko godzina obcowania z czystym akustycznym dźwiękiem, nie skażonym żadnym dodatkowym sprzętem pośredniczącym w odbiorze. Piękne jest doświadczanie muzyki w jej istocie, słuchając Abdullaha Ibrahima obcujemy wyłącznie z jego muzyką, warto nie uronić żadnego z dźwięków, żadnego detalu. Pianista spokojnie prowadzi nas przez kolejne tematy, nawiązuje do wielu swoich kompozycji, które pojawiają się często jedynie w szkicowej formie. Jego hipnotyczne improwizacje nie łamią nigdy łagodnego brzmienia całości.

Płytę rozpoczynają i kończę dwie miniatury na saksofon solo skomponowane w 1970 roku - „Celestial Bird Dance” i „Children Dance”. Stanowią one dramaturgiczną klamrę nagrania, na którym usłyszymy w sumie osiem kompozycji z lat 50-70 i dziewięć improwizowanych utworów.

„The Song Is My Story” dostępna jest na dwóch nośnikach:
CD+DVD Video i Vinyl 1LP.

wybrane recenzje:
allaboutjazz.com * * * * *:
Blessed is the artist who has reached the zenith of his craft, and endured to reap the rewards, becoming the wise elder reflecting upon a lifetime of creative accomplishment. Having left an impressive body of work, he still greets the dawn with exuberance and optimism. Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim is such an artist. As a consummate and dedicated musician, he blazed a trail from the tumultuous townships of Capetown, South Africa to the premier concert halls of the world, and remains a humble servant of the music, which is his sustenance and strength.

The Song Is My Story is Ibrahim's solo piano chronicle of his life, performed in brief and profound interpretations. Many of the songs are visitations from his vast catalog, others are impromptu improvisations literally rolling of his fingertips, for he lives in the moment, is present in the now. For him "improvisation is meditation in motion."

Ibrahim is best recognized for his lengthy productions with extended song structures conjuring images of Africa, with its beauty and its brutality, yet this record is a dramatic departure given its brevity and simplicity. Not that the music is simple, but the sparseness, and the quiet passages mirror his transition into a tranquil performer revealing a gentle personality. Recorded at the esteemed Fazioli concert hall in Sacile, Italy, Ibrahim performs on their superbly crafted grand piano, the perfect setting and instrument for an artist of his caliber.

The accompanying DVD offers his personal narration into his background, influences, and inspirations, from the historical melting pot which is Capetown, to the violent uprisings in Soweto during the mid-1970's which coincided with his rise in stature as an ardent supporter of the anti-apartheid movement. His music is intrinsically connected with the human rights issues of his home, and his peaceful nature radiates a firm belief in freedom and equal rights for all Africans. In the video he demonstrates how his signature piano styling came about by combining local African folk music with jazz progressions and chord structures. A short segment of the concert is also included and is the visual accompaniment to the record, produced with impeccable camerawork and excellent audio.

The Song Is My Story celebrates Abdullah Ibrahim's eightieth birthday, and also coincides with the fortieth anniversary of his 1974 release "Mannenberg," which became the underground anthem of the townships and the rallying cry of the oppressed native inhabitants. Ibrahim is a prestigious artist who not only offers an appreciative audience highly intellectual music, but raises awareness on moral issues as well. His music has made a difference, and in his own words: "some do it because they have to do it...we do it because we want to...so we do not require much sleep...so we have to do it."
by James Nadal

The Guardian * * * *:
The 80-year-old Abdullah Ibrahim’s recent UK shows found him playing in whisper-quiet mode, entrancing some listeners who perhaps began by missing the South African piano giant’s old fire. Ibrahim now reflects in tranquility on the country’s people, landscape and political struggles, but – unlike some of his work of recent years – his new output is quiet without being solemn. This solo set of improvisations and a scattering of personal classics was captured at a concert in the Fazioli piano company’s hometown of Sacile, Italy; there’s also a DVD of concert footage and interviews. Ibrahim’s old Thelonious Monk allegiances are audible on Twelve By Twelve and in the darting chords and dissonances of African Dawn; and in the delicately embroidered Just Arrived he almost suggests a much slower Art Tatum. Most of this music works in gently blooming harmonies and quiet melodic turns varied by the odd boppish flurry, though on Kalahari Pleiades he hits an almost Jarrett-like groove. It’s all played with a remarkable liquid touch, and feels like a late-life Ibrahim renaissance.
by John Fordham
Editor's info:
We can celebrate several anniversaries at the same time with this recording. First, there is the 80th birthday of one of the most significant musicians in this world. We are also reminded of the time 40 years ago when he composed "Mannenberg", which soon became the hymn of the slums and townships of South Africa. Finally, there is also the end of apartheid 20 years ago.

He was born as Adolphe Johannes Brand in this country of unequal rights and already called himself Dollar Brand as an adolescent. He started playing piano when he was seven and already became a "professional musician" at 15. He emigrated to Europe–still as Dollar Brand–in 1962, where Duke Ellington discovered him shortly afterward. He then moved to the USA. That marked the beginning of his international career, which has lasted until today. He has converted to Islam in the meantime and returned to Europe long ago. Then he changed his name again and has been known as Abdullah Ibrahim worldwide for decades. His style is difficult to describe, even when you repeatedly come up against clichés of African melodies and harmonies. In addition, you can't miss the influence of great co-musicians such as Thelonious Monk. He said in an interview with the magazine "Zeit" in 2013:

"I have always sought for a specific sound my whole life. At the end of the 60s—I lived in New York in the meantime-this search became worse and worse. I walked the streets day and night, a restless African in America, who did not understand what was driving him. It wasn't the sound, but the silence, the silent moments in music."

Perhaps it is that which fascinates millions of people: Abdullah Ibrahim's treatment of time, space and silence. Three dimensions of music, which he-and probably only he-celebrates like a prayer put to music. It is not without reason that he writes on the CD cover: "Improvisation is mediation in motion".

Ibrahim said in the same interview: "There are people who can only play if they have sheet music. But we others improvise without knowing where we are headed. This makes us free. We don't fear situations that we don't know. We have a song, rhythm, harmony and pitch, and then we start to play with that, turn everything upside down … We jazz musicians are not afraid of letting things take their course."

However, the term "jazz musician" is a corset, which is much too constricted for this great personage, who has not lost any of this radiance. His music is "world" music in the good sense of the word. It not only links sounds of different genres and musical traditions, but also music with poetry, sound with feelings, melodies with stories – and people with people.

Abdullah Ibrahim visited Italy in the summer of 2014, played on the legendary "Fazioli" grand piano and visited the workshop where these pianos are crafted. There is a concert hall there with fantastic instruments, which sound as if they were created especially for Ibrahim. Abdullah Ibrahim recorded this CD there in free improvisation for the most part. Fortunately, professional films were shot during those days, so that we cannot only issue the CD, but also a DVD with concert excerpts as well as impressive comments by and conversations with Abdullah Ibrahim.

muzycy:
Abdullah Ibrahim: Fazioli grand piano; saxophone (1, 7)

utwory:
1. Celestial Bird Dance
2. Threshold
3. Open Door - Within
4. Unfettered - Muken
5. Spiral Mist
6. Just Arrived
7. Kalahari Pleiades
8. For Coltrane
9. Twelve By Twelve
10. Shadows Lean Against My Song
11. The Song Is My Story - URA
12. Marinska
13. African Dawn
14. Eclipse At Dawn
15. Phambili - Looking Ahead
16. For Coltrane
17. Children Dance

wydano: 2015-02-13