Nigeria, June 18 -- Abdullah Ibrahim, South Africa's jazz icon, sadly passed away in Germany yesterday, on 15 June, at the ripe old age of 91. He must be the only South African jazz musician who lived that long. Hugh Masekela died at 78, and Sibongile Khumalo, "South Africa's Lady of Song", at 63.

Indeed, many of my favourite South African jazz musicians-Sipho Gumede, Jonas Gwangwa, Kippie Moeketsi, Winston Ngozi, and Moses Khumalo-died before they reached 60. The most tragic was the exceptionally gifted Khumalo, who committed suicide at 27.

We're truly blessed that Ibrahim, the man who pioneered jazz in South Africa and made many jazz enthusiasts around the world fall in love with the genre, lived this long. He released well over 100 ...