It might not have been planned this way, but Dream Time exists as a companion of sorts to Ibrahim’s 2019 full-band release The Balance, with a bit of overlapping material. The setting of Dream Time, however, is wholly different: Away from the alluring horns of his ensemble Ekaya, the South African NEA Jazz Master sits alone at the grand piano before an intimate crowd near his home in Germany, conjuring beloved melodies and moods that flow seamlessly into one another. There’s a relaxed, out-of-tempo quality in his musings that makes the album title more than apt. But there’s also a blues-tinged vernacular, a forceful attack, and an underlying elegance to the playing that recalls Ibrahim’s mentor Duke Ellington—explicitly acknowledged not only on “Dedication to Duke Ellington” but also on “Song for Lawrence Brown” (the longtime Ellington trombonist).