Randy Weston: The Essentials
A few weeks ago on September 1st, pianist, composer, and jazz legend Randy Weston sadly passed at the age of 92. The six-foot seven-inch iconic musician was one of the first to incorporate traditional African-influenced rhythms and instrumentation with jazz melodies. It became a major point of emphasis in his music and in his teachings to emphasize the importance of African roots in jazz.
Born on April 6, 1926, the Brooklyn-native grew up studying classical piano, however found himself not enjoying the instrument until he was encouraged to explore his growing interest in jazz. Later on he was drafted to the Army during World War II in 1944. After returning from serving a three-year stint in an all-black segregated unit, he helped manage his father’s Brooklyn-based restaurant Trios. During that time, he found himself surrounded by many notable jazz musicians including Max Roach, Ray Copeland, Ahmed Abdul-Malik, and others. He began playing again and one his idols Thelonious Monk took him under his wing, often giving him lessons and passing along any kind of wisdom Weston could get out of the jazz great.
After migrating from New York to Massachusetts in the early fifties, Weston spent many years gigging in small combos and holding round tables discussing the history of jazz, and the heavy influence African music and culture played on the evolution of the music.
During the late fifties, he became a pivotal member of a state run group known as the Untied Nations Jazz Society, which sought out to spread jazz throughout the different regions in the world, most notably Africa. After a number of trips to different regions in Africa, Weston decided to move to Morocco where he decided to open a nightclub called the African Rhythms Cultural Center. He ran that club for five years with his son and percussionist Azzedin. He eventually moved back to the states, and often performed in different iterations of what he called his ‘African Rhythms’ ensemble.
For over half a century, Weston recorded many incredible recordings that successfully blended his percussive be-bop style piano playing with African influenced percussion rhythms and textures. For a number of recordings, he collaborated with the great trombonist and composer Melba Liston. In 2001, the National Endowment of the Arts was given the Jazz Masters award, the highest honor a jazz artist can receive.
From a personal standpoint, Weston was one of the very first artists that got me into jazz. Prior to getting into the genre, I spent many years exploring modern African music from the sixties and seventies. After coming across his 1972 ‘African Cookbook’ record a few years after I graduated college, I found myself immediately drawn to learn more about jazz, and how African music influenced the genre. Since listing to that recording,
To help pay respect to the late jazz legend, here are six highly recommended records released by Randy Weston. At the end of the list, there will be a Randy Weston Essential Spotify Playlist with samples of each recording and more.
Little Niles
(1959/United Artists Records)
Even though Weston had recorded a few albums prior to the late fifties recording, Little Niles was arguably Weston’s first breakthrough recording. Dedicated to his children Niles and Pamela, this album leaned more bop than some of his more African-influenced records that preceded it. The album, which was arranged by Melba Liston, features two of the pianist’s most notable compositions, including “Little Niles” and “Pam’s Waltz.” Overall, an early classic from the pianist.
Uhuru Afrika
(1961/ Roulette)
Recorded with a 24-piece big band, Uhuru Afrika strongly blended complex jazz melodies with African rhythms and instrumentation. The album is made up of four movements: “Uhuru Kwanza,” “African Lady,” “Bantu,” and “Kucheza Blues.” The large ensemble that plays on the record included a number of jazz greats including Yusef Lateef, Clark Terry, Freddie Hubbard, Max Roach, Slide Hampton, Sahib Shihab, Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, and others. The record includes lyrics and linear notes by poet Langston Hughes and was arranged by Weston’s longtime collaborator Melba Liston. Similar to Lena Horne’s Here’s Lena Now! and Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite, this album was banned in South Africa in 1964.
Music From The New African Nations Featuring The Highlife
(1963/ Colpix Records)
Also simply referred to as Highlife, the album was recorded shortly after Weston performed a series of concerts in Lagos, Nigeria. As the title suggests, the album is inspired by the highlife sounds out of West Africa. The record includes a number of great tracks like “Caban Bamboo Highlife,” “Niger Mambo,” “Zulu,” and “Congolese Children.” From start to finish, Highlife represents one of Weston’s strongest conceptual albums that he ever recorded.
Blue Moses
(1972/ CTI Records)
Featured on legendary jazz producer Creed Taylor’s CTI Records, Blue Moses was Weston’s only album for the electric jazz fusion label. Highlighted by the album’s title track “Ganawa (Blue Moses),” the album includes four solid tracks and represents the pianist’s best selling album. The recording features a great cast of musicians including Ron Carter (bass), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Grover Washington (saxophone), Hubert Laws (flute), Billy Cobham (drums), and others. According to Weston in his autobiography African Rhythms, he would of rather recorded the album acoustically but that went against the electric jazz sound that CTI records were known for.
African Cookbook
(1972/ Atlantic)
Originally released by a private label in 1966 under the title Randy! (Băp!! Beep Boo-Bee Băp Beep-M-Boo Bee Băp!), the 1972 Atlantic records release features arguably Randy Weston’s greatest compositions in the title track “African Cookbook.” The twelve-minute masterpiece truly captures the pinnacle of the pianists’ African jazz sound with his percussive Thelonious Monk-like piano playing backed by some funky African-influenced percussion rhythms. The lineup includes Booker Ervin (tenor saxophone), Ray Copeland (trumpet), Vishnu Wood(bass), Lenny McBrowne (drums), as well as a number of percussionists including Big Black and Sir Harold Murray.
Tanjah
(1973/ Polydor)
This recording not only features Weston on acoustic piano, but he plays the Fender Rhodes on the jazz-funk gem “In Memory Of.” The album also features a couple of great large group renditions of classic staples from the pianist including “Hi Fly” and “Little Niles.” Other standout tracks include the calypso-influenced “Jamaica East” and the percussion heavy title track “Tanjah.” On top of the album being arranged by Melba Liston, the recording features an incredible cast of musicians including Billy Harper (saxophone/ flute), Ray Copeland (trumpet), Jon Faddis (trumpet), Ron Carter (bass), Ahmed Abdul-Malik (oud), percussionists Candido, and his son Azzedin, as well as many others.
RANDY WESTON ESSENTIALS PLAYLIST
