Autobiography (Abdullah Ibrahim album)

Autobiography
Live album by
Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand)
Released1978 (LP), 2001 (CD)
Recorded18 June 1978
GenresPost-bop
South African jazz
LabelsPlainisphare (LP)
Elephant (CD)
Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) chronology
Duet
(1978)
Autobiography
(1978)
Echoes from Africa
(1979)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar [1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record GuideStarStarStarStar[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz RecordingsStarStarStarHalf star[3]

Autobiography is a live recording by pianist and flautist Abdullah Ibrahim (also known as Dollar Brand), taken from a concert on 18 June 1978 in Switzerland. On the recording, Ibrahim recalls his childhood in South Africa through the songs he learned then, progressing to his own compositions in adulthood. Originally released as a two-disc LP set, the album has since been reissued on CD.

Track listing

  1. "What Really Happened in the Cornfields is that the Birds Made Musical all the Day and so I Let a Song Go Out of my Heart at Duke’s Place" – "Anthem For the New Nations"
  2. "Biral"
  3. "Gwidza" – "Yukio-Kahlifa" – "Intro Liberation Dance"
  4. "African Marketplace" – "Tokai" – "Llanga" – "African Sun"
  5. "The Dream"
  6. "Liberation Dance"
  7. "Did You Hear That Sound ?" – "Our Son Tsakwe" – "The Wedding" – "I Surrender Dear" (Harry Barris/Gordon Clifford) – "One Day When We Were Young"
  8. "Drop Me Off in Harlem" (Duke Ellington)
  9. "Take the "A" Train" ((Billy Strayhorn) – "Coming on the Hudson" – "Moniebah"
  10. "Little Boy"
  11. "Cherry"
  12. "Ishmael" – "Mannenberg" – "Children of Africa"/"Banyana" – "Peace-Salaam" – "Anthem for the New Nations"
  13. "Khoisan"

References

  1. ↑ Yanow, Scott. Autobiography at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 109. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  3. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 743. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.