Description
The Music of Randy Weston celebrates the centennial of pianist, composer, bandleader and cultural historian Randy Weston with an expansive collection of previously unreleased performances spanning three distinct projects from 1985 and 1988. One of jazz's most important links between African musical traditions and the modern jazz language, Weston drew upon the legacies of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk while making the music and history of Africa fundamental to his own compositions. This limited edition brings together three albums on three CDs and five LPs, documenting Weston in orchestral, large-ensemble and two-piano settings.
The first program features Randy Weston & African Rhythm Orchestra in material recorded following a major 1985 tribute at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Arranged and conducted by the legendary Melba Liston, the session places Weston's piano within an 18-piece ensemble featuring Stanton Davis, Johnny Coles, Virgil Jones, Richard Williams, Al Grey, Benny Powell, Harold Vick, Talib Kibwe, Norris Turney, Cecil Payne, Charlie Persip and others. The four extended Weston compositions include the majestic "African Sunrise," the haunting "The Last Day," his tender tribute to his mother, "Portrait of Vivian," and the percussion-rich "Blue Moses." The combination of Liston's sophisticated orchestration, Weston's distinctive piano language and an exceptional horn and rhythm section emphasizes the Ellingtonian scale and African rhythmic foundations of his music.
The second album captures Weston and a nonet at the 1985 Montreux Jazz Festival, with arrangements by Liston and conducting by Hale Smith. Benny Bailey, Sahib Shihab, Talib Kibwe, Benny Powell, George Lewis, Clyde Lucas, Wilbur Little and Sam Kelly join Weston for an extended "African Cookbook," "Hi Fly," "African Sunrise," "Congolese Children" and a jubilant closing "C-Jam Blues." Weston also performs the intimate solo-piano pairing "Blues for Strayhorn / Portrait of F.E. Weston," linking a tribute to Billy Strayhorn with a portrait of his father. The performance moves easily between large-scale African-influenced compositions, blues, swing and Weston's singular approach to solo piano.
The third program documents 1988 European festival performances pairing Weston with Jamaican jazz piano master Monty Alexander, accompanied by percussionists Eric Asante and Robert "Bobby" Thomas. Their encounters include contrasting interpretations of Weston's "Hi Fly" and "Blue Moses" alongside Ellington and Tizol's "Caravan," Thelonious Monk's "Blue Monk" and Sonny Rollins' Caribbean standard "St. Thomas." The dialogue between Weston's spacious, percussive approach and Alexander's fluid rhythmic vocabulary makes these performances a particularly distinctive part of the collection.
Produced as a premium centennial edition and limited to only 500 copies worldwide, The Music of Randy Weston contains three CDs and five vinyl LPs representing three previously unreleased concert/studio albums, plus a booklet. The entire collection is housed in an exclusive vegan-leather bag with an embedded brass medal designed by Weston himself. With nearly 200 minutes of music, the set offers a substantial archival portrait of an artist whose work joined jazz, blues and African musical heritage into a deeply personal language.
Track Listing
Disc 1:
- African Sunrise
- The Last Day
- Portrait Of Vivian
- Blue Moses
Disc 2:
- African Cookbook
- Hi Fly
- Blues For Strayhorn/Portrait Of F.E. Weston
Disc 3:
- African Sunrise
- Congolese Children
- C-Jam Blues
Disc 4:
- Hi Fly
- Blue Moses
- Caravan
- Hi Fly
Disc 5:
- Blue Monk
- St Thomas
- Blue Moses
Disc 6:
- African Sunrise
- The Last Day
- Portrait Of Vivian
- Blue Moses
Disc 7:
- African Cookbook
- Hi Fly
- Blues For Strayhorn/Portrait Of F.E. Weston
- African Sunrise
- Congolese Children
- C-Jam Blues
Disc 8:
- Hi Fly
- Blue Moses
- Caravan
- Hi Fly
- Blue Monk
- St Thomas
- Blue Moses
Additional Details
Label: IN AND OUT RECORDS GmbH
Genre: Jazz
Language: English
Run Time: 198:27 mins
Region: 0
Release Date: 05/08/26
UPC: 798747716819