i too am totally charmed by abdullah ibrahim and had the good fortune to see him a couple of months ago after more than 20 years of listening to his recordings. gig featured his trio in the first half, a local (L.A.) chamber ensemble/mini-orchestra with the trio the second half. like his most recent CD (african magic, i think it's called), the concert had a lot of nice little moments but not the sustained bounce and wonder of his best work. nonetheless, he had a spiritual presence the emanated. i second his work by the ekaya band, with "water from an ancient well" a worthy example. and the one called "ekaya" -- hard to find, but my favorite of the bunch. (i've been searching for a OOP duet LP of ibrahim and carlos ward -- don't know the title -- but if anybody has it, i'd eagerly burn a CD from my Ekaya LP -- in excellent condition -- in swap for a burn of the duet.) my introduction to ibrahim was an ECM/JAPO under his birth name of Dollar Brand, called "African Piano." solo piano, lots of rolling ostinatos, lots of bouyant and melodic improvisations. exceedingly pleasant. kinda short, like 35 mins. readily available on CD. martin