NNF 2015

Abdullah Ibrahim

21/05/15

Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Theatre Royal combine to once again bring a musician of international renown to our fine city. Abdullah Ibrahim is a jazz pianist and composer who continues to perform even as he approaches his 81st birthday. He is considered one of the greatest living jazz artists and has slowly built his reputation over the course of many decades since first emerging onto the scene in the mid 1950’s. A pretty big deal then.

Abdullah’s entrance could not have been more low key, he shuffled on stage, took his seat at the piano and for twenty minutes played some beautiful music, as close to classical as it was to jazz. It took me by surprise, and with the almost soporific atmosphere of the Theatre Royal it took me a little while to readjust my expectations of the evening ahead. After this opening piece Abdullah was joined by two further musicians – a double bass player who later switched to cello, with the second musician employing soprano sax, flute and clarinet as his instruments of choice. It was amazing just how subtle the sound was; it never really approached an up tempo and with the use of the cello it increasingly resembled a classical recital and it was…graceful. Captivating. Lovely. High class. All at once. I felt a growing sense of privilege in being able to watch such a humble man perform. The music more or less flowed into one continuous piece with only brief gaps where Abdullah encouraged his musicians to take the warm applause from the audience. Even the moments where he played unaccompanied were brief before, with a slight nod, he was joined once again by his band.

Without knowing how much time had passed I guessed we were about an hour into his ninety minute set, but shortly after I had that thought they stood for a final round of applause and departed the stage – the set was over. That was when I really knew just how much I’d enjoyed this performance of elegant, inspiring music. At no point did Abdullah address the audience or show any interest in taking the limelight. I certainly would have enjoyed an encore and heading home for my Horlicks at the ridiculously early hour of 9.30 was a little strange, but ultimately I was charmed by this gentle man.

Stuart Preston @StuPres