Search - Dollar Brand :: African Marketplace

Why? Because It's the real deal!

03/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I spent 5 years living, working, and traveling throughout South Africa. My job took me way off the beaten path from dorp to even smaller dorp. This album was in the cassette player of my car...it too was a dub of a dub of a dub.In rotation with Miriam Makeba, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Brenda Fassie, Lucky Dube, ....Dollar Brand and the African Jazz Pioneers offered a more "traditional" alternative to the other more "pop" oriented artists.
You can't imagine the beauty of this music, the rich culture and the beautiful scenery of rural southern africa. Together they evoke the honesty and sincerity of Ibraham's music.
South African music is often slighty off-key,the rythem can be be out of sych.....that's part of the beauty of the material.
Anyone familiar with the culture will recognize how closely this music mirrors the region itself. Years later all I need to do is put this album on, close my eyes, and I'm transported back to the rural reality, beauty, simplicity and complexity of South Africa.
Unless you've lived....understand it....and have a basis for critique....your opinion of "professionalism" matters very little indeed."

A Classic from Beginning to End

Steve Leach | Oak Cliff, TX | 06/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are not too many albums in any genre that paint a consistent picture from the first note to the last. There are even fewer that do this in a hybrid style that is really something new and different. I bless Duke Ellington for bringing Abdullah Ibrahim to our attention, and I thank Mr. Ibrahim for giving us this joyous and colorful recording. The title describes the flavor aptly: the songs are alternately festive and languid, with slightly altered themes recurring throughout. When you play it, don't skip any cuts!"