Rare Silk – American Eyes

Pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim, formerly known as Dollar Brand, is known as one of the leading figures of Cape Jazz, a subgenre of jazz performed in the very southern part of Africa fusing jazz, ragtime, blues, and improvisation, with roots deep in the African tradition. His list of collaborators includes Archie Shepp, Max Roach, Keith Jarrett, Charles Lloyd, Michael White, as well as Don Cherry (check their Copenhagen session The Third World-Underground). Ibrahim’s Africa – Tears And Laughter is a deeply spiritual work of Afro-American fusion drawing strength and inspiration from the pianist’s Islamic faith. “Prayer is a natural mode of expression for a Muslim musician: Abdullah Ibrahim embraces it naturally, passionately.” A3 “Ishmael” is an especially beautiful composition featuring a repeating bass vamp and Ibrahim and Talib Qadr praying “in voices guttural with passion, sounding as possessed of the spirit as dervishes.”
Recommended – A3 Ishmael, Full Listen
A1 Tsakve
A2 The Perfumed Forest Wet With Rain
A3 Ishmael
B1 Did You Hear That Sound?
B2 Liberation Dance (When Tarzan Meets The African Freedom Fighter)
B3 Imam
B4 Tsakve
Bass – Greg Brown
Design [Album Design] – Suzanne Hill
Drums – John Betsch
Lacquer Cut By – BK
Liner Notes – Fred Bouchard
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Photography By [Cover Photograph] – Sebastian Bastel
Producer – Horst Weber, Matthias Winckelmann
Recorded By – Gibbs Platen
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Vocals – Talib Qadr
Typography – Bill Shuyler
Vocals, Piano, Soprano Saxophone – Dollar Brand
Written-By – Abdullah Ibrahim