ABU DHABI // Abdullah Ibrahim, one of the foremost jazz pianists in the world, wants to take his melodies to the next generation of musicians.
Ibrahim, 74, who will perform in Abu Dhabi with his seven-piece ensemble in the Abu Dhabi Classics series next month, was in town this week to introduce schoolchildren to jazz.
"Children are the best audience," he said. "They have very little filters. They just absorb. It's the same everywhere around the world with children.
"What I try to tell young people is to be as sincere as possible when they play. The intention is not to send a message always."
Ibrahim's work in Abu Dhabi is part of a new venture to expose pupils to music. He will begin with private schools that already have music programmes, and slowly expand to work with public schools.
"We have to find some way with music education. We have to rethink the ways in which we do it and it has to come from the communities first rather than just teaching it in the classrooms," he said.
Ibrahim, in three sessions at the American Community School, played two pieces and talked about his childhood in South Africa, his introduction to music and his initial inability to master the piano and the frustration that accompanied it. The stories delighted the young music lovers gathered in the school auditorium.
Rachelle Ibrahim, 13, who used to play the trumpet, said she would like to learn the saxophone.
"I learnt from him that over time you get better and better and over time, you get it, just like he did with playing the piano," she said.
Emily Rose Breault, 13, who had to choose between art, drama and music in her previous school, said she was inspired by Ibrahim's presentation and was keen to take up music again. "From him I understood that even if you are not good straight away you have to do it. He showed us that. Every day, he achieved his dreams. He didn't stop."
Ibrahim arrived here after a concert in Germany. He got up early on Monday to talk to the children, and took in the sights of the city in the afternoon. "From what I have seen, I love it," he said as he sat in the lobby of the InterContinental Hotel. "It has great potential because there is global vision. This is the new world. Just look around you."
Ibrahim said his mother and grandmother, who were pianists at church, introduced him to the instrument. He learnt covertly from local school teachers, who were not allowed to openly teach non-white children under apartheid.
"The regime denied us many things, even the teachers who were brilliant with such passion for music had to learn it through correspondence courses. And they gave us such grounding in the universal tradition of music."
Growing up in the 1960s in Cape Town, a port city that attracted different musical and cultural influences, Ibrahim took time to absorb other forms of music, including Indian classical, folk music from Malaysia and western classical music - mostly from radio programmes.
"There was robust cultural activity in spite of the problems of the regime," he said." But music knows no boundaries. It transcends cultural and social norms. As a musician, a composer, you have this insatiable appetite to learn more music all the time. So we played on. I first started playing at the church and in community centres."
Ibrahim, raised as Adolph Johannes Brand, was drawn to Islam in his youth, soon after he became famous. He remembers being worried about his lifestyle as a musician, and trying to find an explanation for the discrimination and violence of apartheid. He looked for an answer that would include "peace and serenity".
"I grew up in a gang-infested society. It came at a time when the social milieu was violent. I was also introduced to alcohol and drugs as a musician and I became very ill."
Ibrahim said he grew up with Muslim friends. "At an early age I was drawn to Islam anyway, then I discovered tauheed, or unity, that is defined in Islam. And that answered the inequality that I saw around me."
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Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
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The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
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Pakistan - Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Rumman Raees.
MATCH INFO
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.