Sunday, 18 October 2026

Pianist Kyle Shepard staged tribute concerts to Abdullah Ibrahim at Untitled Basement and the Baxter Concert Hall in Cape Town on 10 October. Ibrahim died on 15 June this year.

Shepard's mother, classical violinist Michelle Shepard, toured with Ibrahim in 1994. As a teenager, Shepard spent after-school hours around Ibrahim's M7 music school in Parliament Street.

Shepard says he chose to play Ibrahim's music almost exactly as recorded, as a study challenge. He concedes it is physically impossible, because Ibrahim's left hand could stretch far wider than his own.

Shepard says lecturers at UCT told him not to play the Cape music he grew up with. He left the university after eight months.

In the Old Soul versus New Sound vote on West Coast Blues, listeners leaned towards the modern 1993 version over Wes Montgomery's 1960 original.