South African pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim was born in Cape Town on October 9, 1934. His birth name was Adolph Johannes Brand and for many years he worked professionally as Dollar Brand. His composition Mannenberg became an anti-apartheid anthem in his home country and around the world.

Ibrahim began piano lessons at the age of 7 and made his professional debut at 15. By his mid-20s, he was a member of “The Jazz Epistles,” a group that included trumpeter Hugh Masekela. In 1960 the band went into the Gallo studio in Johannesburg and recorded the first full-length jazz album by South African Black musicians. Later that same year he released his first record as a leader “Dollar Brand Plays Sphere Jazz.”

In 1962 Ibrahim moved to Europe and was introduced to Duke Ellington by Abdullah’s future wife, singer Sathima Bea Benjamin. Ellington arranged to have Ibrahim signed to do a record for the Reprise label and a year later “Duke Ellington presents the Dollar Brand Trio” was released. In 1965 Benjamin and Ibrahim were married and moved to New York City, toured the United States and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival. In 1966 Ibrahim substituted for Ellington and led his band for five gigs. The following year he received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation for study at Julliard.

While living in New York Ibrahim worked with and was influenced by Don Cherry, John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman. He was also influenced by the Black Power movement and the continuing struggle of Black people in his native South Africa. During this period, he began to incorporate more African musical elements into his writing and playing. He converted to Islam and changed his name in 1968.

In 1974 Abdullah Ibrahim released a quintet album called “Mannenburg - Is Where It’s Happening.” Mannenburg is a township of Cape Town that was created by the apartheid government in 1966 as a place to relocate Black citizens who were forced out of their homes in areas designated as “white only.”

Ibrahim has made at least 70 records as a leader on his resume and remains active as a musician today at the age of 92. In 2018 he was named as one of four recipients of the United States National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships. He has received numerous additional awards throughout the world including South Africa’s Order of Ikhamanga "For his excellent contribution to the arts, putting South Africa on the international map and his fight against racism and apartheid."

Here is a link to his 1974 recording of Mannenburg:

"MANNENBURG"