JAZZ REVIEW : Otherworldliness of Ibrahim at Catalina

If there was an emotion left unfurled during Abdullah Ibrahim’s first set Tuesday night at the Catalina Bar & Grill then it was one that has yet to be named. From a psalm-like opening tune that cast a sorrowful pall over the crowd through a series of unannounced songs that alternately spirited joy and hostility, the South Africa-born pianist embraced every element of jazz in an 1 1/2-hour presentation of his own compositions.

Known as Dollar Brand until his conversion to the Islam faith in 1968, Ibrahim has characterized himself as a mere channel for musical expression. Indeed, his approach to the acoustic piano seemed otherworldly as he towered quietly before it, accepting whatever direction came to mind.

“I think Abdullah would be happiest if he could just play a 4-hour set without any breaks,” said saxophonist Craig Handy after the performance.

Ibrahim’s opening set was performed like a suite. There were no breaks, no announcements, no acknowledgements. The influences of Ellington and Coltrane and Monk shifted in and out of his music--sometimes in the form of quotes, sometimes in the form of feeling, sometimes in the form of tribute--and at seeming whim, Ibrahim changed course without warning.

And so too did each composition change. A plaintive ballad would suddenly be spurred by a roiling undercurrent of rhythm from drummer Winnard Harper. A darkly moody piece in a minor key would be overlaid with a happy-go-lucky motif from Handy’s flute. A walking bass line from Essiet Okun Essiet would instill motion where there was none. And from the pianist would come jabs and stabs of clustered dissonance.

Yet everything worked beautifully. Handy’s fat-sounding tenor emerged from Ibrahim’s rumbling and led into a full-bodied swing that was contrasted with the pianist’s chanting “This refrain / spinning round in my brain / echoes out / John Coltrane.” Moments later, the pianist offered “Perfume For Winnie,” a poignant piece that asked “Locusts or blossoms / what will you choose?”

Ibrahim will play at the Catalina through Sunday night.