mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (02/27/85)
This South African pianist/composer was "discovered" by Duke Ellington some 20 years ago in Europe. He converted to Islam a few years ago, hence the name change. He moved to New York in 1976, but only recently has formed the group Ekaya, which means "home" in a South Lesotho dialect. Ekaya is composed of Ben Riley (drums), a bassis whose name I don't remember, Charles Davis (baritone sax), Dick Anderson (trombone), Ricky Ford (tenor) and Carlos Ward (alto.) Ibrahim is the pianist of course, and composes all the music. The music is carefully composed. Not for them a loose, perfunctory theme statement followed by a free for all string of solos. The composer's touch is firmly imprinted on this music, while retaining the individual soloists' personalities. This has caused comparisons between Ibrahim abd Ellington. While the compositional styles are somewhat similar, where Duke exudes a sophisticated hedonism, Ibrahim has an austere seriousness. He is not somber, though. Rather, it is a mixture of contradictory, complementary emotions. This is the music of a man whose culture thinks of music as a wholly integrated part of everyday life, that accompanies every daily action, that is the expression of people's emotions rather than their celebration. The music contains the feelings of the composer as well as those of the players and those of the audience. This is reflected in live performances. The ebullient Ricky Ford's solos and even his riffing behind others jump out of the tenor, while Davis is more ponderous. Anderson is one of a string of trombonists, led by Roswell Rudd, that have brought the instrument's metallic resonance back to the forefront, shying away from the legato approach championed by JJ Johnson. A special word must be said for Ward. Cerainly the others have thoroughly absorbed Ibrahim's concept. But Ward, who has been playing with the leader for close to a decade now, sounds like he lives inside this music. His tone is rich, silky, fresh. His attack is broad, encompassing both the elegance of a Hodges and the raw urgency of a Parker or an Art Pepper. He was incredible on a funeral dirge, incidentally based on the minor chords that form the staple of every church organist's repertoire. Both he and Ford lit the joint on a funky blues straight out of those Mingus-Dolphy collaborations, with the band insistently testifying behind a soloist preaching the blues away. Ibrahim has made many albums. Standouts, in my opinion, are an album of duets with Archie Shepp, recorded in Japan in 1981 and available on Denon; "The Journey", from a 1977 Alice Tully Hall concert that includes Don Cherry, Pheeroan AkLaff, Ward and others, on Chiaroscuro; "Ekaya", the first album with the band, on Ekapa records (this is probably the place to start if you have never heard Ibrahim); and a just released album of Duets with Ward. Marcel Simon