Dollar Brand At Montreux

Album review

During the early '80s, the South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim released a flurry of small-group albums that concentrated on essentially the same relatively small repertoire. At Montreux is one of these. Thus we have pieces like "The Perfumed Forest Wet With Rain" and "Ishmael," which are available on several other recordings, and "The Wedding," which -- while a beautiful song -- seemed to appear on every recording Ibrahim issued during this period. This is not to say that it's a mediocre or unenjoyable recording. The band is tight and energetic, featuring the usual stellar work from the unsung saxophonist Carlos Ward as well as an early recorded appearance by the young trombonist Craig Harris. Ibrahim chose to have an electric bass with this group, giving a slightly funkier sound than usual and, as was typically the case, the pianist himself stays in the background, preferring to lead and prod the band rather than solo. As such, At Montreux is certainly a representative album from this time period but, depending on which other albums are in one's possession, not an absolutely essential one.

© Brian Olewnick /TiVo