(FILES) South African pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim looks on during a press conference during the Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) in Cape Town on March 26, 2026. World-renowned South African jazz pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim has died Monday at the age of 91 in Germany, his family announced in a statement. Born in 1934, Ibrahim began his professional career at 15 before being discovered in 1963 in a Zurich club by American jazz pianist Duke Ellington. In 1965, Ibrahim and his wife moved to New York, where he fronted the Duke Ellington Orchestra on several occasions. The tall, lanky pianist, who recorded more than 70 albums "passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family in Germany, after a short illness," the family said. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP via Getty Images)