Bombella

South African pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim, who was formerly known as Dollar Brand, stepped into the international spotlight with 1963’s Duke Ellington Presents the Dollar Brand Trio. Since then he’s collaborated with a wide variety of artists, including Max Roach, Elvin Jones, and Don Cherry, and continues to be a vital force in the 21st century. He follows up his 2008 solo piano outing, Senzo, with a big band release, 2010’s Bombella. Here he is joined by the WDR BIG Band Cologne, a crack ensemble led by the late Steve Gray, who also wrote the album’s arrangements. Bombella opens with an elegant solo piano outing, “Green Kalahari,” before it moves on to “Song for Sathima,” which features lush horn charts, and melodic alto and baritone sax statements. “Mandela” draws from South African Kwela music, with Karolina Strassmayer’s piccolo flute standing in for the traditional pennywhistle. The lengthiest cut combines a swinging version of Monk’s “I Mean You” with an original tribute, “For Monk,” which showcases Olivier Peters’ soprano sax. The excellent closer, “African River,” brings to mind one of Ibrahim’s biggest influences, Duke Ellington.