Randy Weston

After contributing six decades of musical direction and genius, Randy Weston remains one of the world's foremost pianists and composers today, a true innovator and visionary. Encompassing the vast rhythmic heritage of Africa, his global creations musically continue to inform and inspire. "Weston has the biggest sound of any jazz pianist since Ellington and Monk, as well as the richest most inventive beat," states jazz critic Stanley Crouch, "but his art is more than projection and time; it's the result of a studious and inspired intelligence...an intelligence that is creating a fresh synthesis of African elements with jazz technique".

Randy Weston, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1926, didn't have to travel far to hear the early jazz giants that were to influence him. Though Weston cites Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Art Tatum, and of course, Duke Ellington as his other piano heroes, it was Monk who had the greatest impact. "He was the most original I ever heard," Weston remembers. "He played like they must have played in Egypt 5000 years ago."

Randy Weston’s first recording as a leader came in 1954 on Riverside Records “Randy Weston plays Cole Porter - Cole Porter in a modern mood.” It was in the 50's when Randy Weston played around New York with Cecil Payne and Kenny Dorham that he wrote many of his best loved tunes, "Saucer Eyes," "Pam's Waltz," "Little Niles," and, "Hi-Fly." His greatest hit, "Hi-Fly," Weston (who is 6' 8") says, is a "tale of being my height and looking down at the ground

Randy Weston has never failed to make the connections between African and American music. His dedication is due in large part to his father, Frank Edward Weston, who told his son that he was, "an African born in America." "He told me I had to learn about myself and about him and about my grandparents," Weston said in an interview, "and the only way to do it was I'd have to go back to the motherland one day."

In the late 60's, Weston left the country. But instead of moving to Europe like so many of his contemporaries, Weston went to Africa. Though he settled in Morocco, he traveled throughout the continent tasting the musical fruits of other nations. This led him to settle in Morocco in 1968, where he continued to tour and perform throughout Morocco, Tunisia, Togo, the Ivory Coast, and Liberia.

Weston has made more than fifty recordings throughout his lifetime, the most celebrated including “African Cookbook,” “Little Niles,” “Blue Moses,” “Berkshire Blues,” “Uhuru Africa,” ( in collaboration with arranger Melba Liston) and Grammy-nominated “Tanjah” and “Carnaval.” A prolific composer, Weston’s highly individualistic works have been recorded by jazz virtuosi like Max Roach, Monty Alexander, Dexter Gordon, Jimmy Heath, Kenny Burrell, Abbey Lincoln, Bobby Hutchinson, Lionel Hampton, and Cannonball Adderly.

Randy Weston, Roy Haynes, Wayne Shorter

by David Brown
March 7, 2023

This week, our featured artist is pianist, composer and seeker of his ancestral African connection, Randy Weston; a set featuring one of the most recorded drummers in jazz history, Roy Haynes, from Coltrane to Etta Jones will follow. The show continues with a set of tracks recorded live at San Francisco's fabled night club the Blackhawk featuring Monk, Miles and Manne, and finally, a celebration of saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter who sadly passed away this week. Playlist Thelonious Monk ...

Radio & Podcasts

Highlights of Jazz in the Late 1990s (1995 - 1999)

by Russell Perry
June 30, 2020

This is the 96th of 100 programs in the Jazz at 100 series. As we present more recent music, we face the historian's dilemma, what performances will have lasting value? What players will be remembered for their contributions to advancing the music? What trends will turn into dominant themes? We are following the lead of critic Gary Giddins who wrote an essay entitled “Postwar Jazz: An Arbitrary Roadmap (1945—2001)" where he told the story of post-war jazz through a discussion ...

Radio & Podcasts

Weston Culture

by Patrick Burnette
November 1, 2018

Inspired by Randy Weston's passing, Mike and Pat explore four pivotal albums from the pianist/composer's long career, taking in works from 1960 to 2003. Weston's collaboration with trombonist/arranger Melba Liston is discussed in some depth, as her contributions were crucial to some of his greatest recordings. Pat laments not including Weston's album Highlife from 1963, which he says is his favorite of Weston's collaborations with Liston, while Mike explains the religious origins of “Blue Moses." Playlist Discussion of Randy Weston's ...

Radio & Podcasts

Randy Weston Tribute & New Releases

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 11, 2018

Another master has left us. Randy Weston passed away on Sept. 1st at the venerable age of 92. This week we celebrate the music of an artist that consciously built a bridge between jazz and African musical traditions and, in doing so, strongly contributed to the awareness of the African roots of jazz music. This episode will then feature some interesting new releases by Phronesis, Stefon Harris, Stephane Spira, Fred Hersch and others. Happy listening! ...

Interview

Randy Weston: The Spirit of Our Ancestors

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 7, 2018

To commemorate the Randy Weston, we've republished this 1999 interview that traces his life and career, from his birth in Brooklyn to the years spent in Africa, from his admiration for Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington to his collaboration with Melba Liston. Every year, Harvard's Department of Music devotes part of its academic year to the study of great jazz masters. Thanks to this program, musicians such as Bill Evans, Gerry Mulligan, Lester Bowie, Steve Lacy, Illinois ...

Interview

Randy Weston: Brooklyn, Africa e ritorno

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 4, 2018

Per ricordare il grande pianista statunitense, riproponiamo un'intervista del 1999 che ripercorre la sua vita e la sua carriera, dalla nascita a Brooklyn agli anni passati in Africa fino alla consacrazione dopo il rientro negli Stati Uniti. Ogni anno, la facoltà di musica dell'università di Harvard, dedica parte del suo calendario accademico all'analisi ed all'approfondimento della musica di uno dei grandi maestri del jazz. Grazie a questo programma, musicisti del calibro di Bill Evans, Gerry Mulligan, Lester ...

Radio & Podcasts

Randy Weston Live In Padua, 1975

by Centro d'Arte Padova
August 31, 2018

Another installment in the “From the Archive" series: jazz swing and African roots merge in a breathtaking exploration of rhythm, melody and texture by the magnificent Randy Weston, captured here in an unreleased excerpt from the solo piano concert he held in Padua, Italy, in 1975. Playlist Randy Weston “Live in Padua 1975" (Unreleased) 00:00 ...

Obituary

Randy Weston (1926-2018)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 4, 2018

Randy Weston, a jazz pianist and composer who was the first artist producer Orrin Keepnews signed to his new Riverside label in 1954 and who became one of the most ardent champions of Pan-Africanism in jazz, died on September 1. He was 92. [Photo of Randy Weston by Chester Higgins] Randy was perhaps best known for his composition Hi-Fly, which he introduced on his New Faces at Newport album in 1958. The song's catchy melody and moody harmony helped the ...
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Obituary

Randy Weston, 1926-2018

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
September 3, 2018

Pianist and composer Randy Weston, who championed the African origins of jazz, died at home in New York yesterday. He was 92. With his distinctive rhythmic patterns and powerful harmonic progressions, Weston underlined the African heritage that so definitively helped shape the music’s development. He frequently visited and performed in Nigeria and other African nations. For a time in the late ‘60s he lived in Tangier, Morocco, and opened a club there. Several of Weston’s compositions long since took their ...
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Recording

NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston To Release New 2-CD Set, "The African Nubian Suite," On His African Rhythms Label, Jan. 20

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
November 23, 2016

NEA Jazz Master, iconic pianist/composer, and still-vital jazz elder Randy Weston, at 90, remains a powerful force in jazz. Currently serving as artist-in-residence at Medgar Evers College at the City University of New York; celebrated earlier this month at Harvard University, which has acquired his archive; and named a United States Artists (USA) Fellow last week, Weston is now preparing to release a new recording on his African Rhythms label. The 2-CD set, The African Nubian Suite, captures a concert ...
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Performance / Tour

Randy Weston & Billy Harper Highlights In Jazz Thursday, June 11th 8pm @ Tribeca Performing Arts

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
June 11, 2015

Jack Kleinsinger’s Highlights In Jazz, New York’s longest running jazz concert series, concludes its 43rd season on Thursday June 11, 2015 at 8:00 PM in the Tribeca Performing Arts Center at Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street, NY, 10007 with Jazz Past & Present, a multigenerational double bill featuring the incomparable duo of, pianist Randy Weston and tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, performing a program including selections from their critically acclaimed album The Roots of the Blues. Sharing the ...
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Award / Grant

2015 JJA Jazz Awards Honor Musical Excellence Randy Weston Praised For Lifetime Achievement

Source: Michael Ricci
May 16, 2015

jny: NEW YORK – The Jazz Journalists Association has announced winners of its 2015 JJA Jazz Awards for musical excellence in calendar year 2014 (see winners below), and released details about its annual public Jazz Awards party, at the Blue Note Jazz Club, 131 W. 3rd St., NYC, on June 16, from 3 pm to 5:30 pm. Tickets are available here. The 19th annual JJA Jazz Awards celebrates Randy Weston, 89-year-old pianist, composer, lecturer, and Brooklyn-born Africanist with its top ...
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Award / Grant

Randy Weston, Lifetime Achiever

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
May 16, 2015

The Jazz Journalists Association has named 89-year-old pianist, composerand bandleader Randy Weston winner of the JJA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015. Weston’s 66-year career began in his native New York. In his early years it included work with Art Blakey, Bull Moose Jackson, Eddie Vinson, Kenny Dorham and his childhood friends Cecil Payne and Ray Copeland. He was a key figure at Music Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts, during the institution’s influential years in jazz education. Also in the 1950s, he ...
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Performance / Tour

Randy Weston & Billy Harper Appearing At Highlights In Jazz

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
May 14, 2015

Jack Kleinsinger’s Highlights In Jazz—New York’s Longest Running Jazz Concert Series—concludes its 43rd Season with Jazz, Past & Present, a historic double bill featuring NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston with Billy Harper performing The Roots of the Blues and Highlights In Jazz New Stars Benny Benack, Steven Frieder, Dylan Meek, Devin Starks & Kosta Galanopoulos plus a very special surprise guest. Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 8 pm at Tribeca Performing Arts Center of Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 ...
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Event

New England Conservatory Presents "African Rhythms" - Rare Boston-Area Performance By Legendary Pianist/Composer Randy Weston

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications
March 18, 2013

In Concert with the NEC Jazz Orchestra Under the Direction of Ken Schaphorst on Thursday, April 18 in NEC's Jordan Hall Randy Weston will return to New England Conservatory in May to receive an honorary Doctor of Music degree. “(one) of the most powerful, percussive pianists alive…and also one of the most joyous.” —Lloyd Sachs, Chicago Sun Times “Weston has the biggest sound of any jazz pianist since Ellington and Monk, as well as the richest most inventive beat... but ...
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Event

Jazz Treasures, 10/17: Honorees Randy Weston, Charenee Wade, Robert O'Meally

Source: Carolyn McClair Public Relations
October 3, 2011

LIVING JAZZ LEGEND RANDY WESTON TO BE HONORED! Honorary Co-Chairs Marty Markowitz, Danny Simmons And Others To Honor Renowned Pianist And Composer. “When Randy Weston plays / a combination of strength and gentleness / virility and velvet emerges from the keys in an ebb and flow of sound / seemingly as natural as the waves of the sea." —Langston Hughes BROOKLYN, NY: TRANSART, Inc. announced today that its annual Jazz Treasures program will take place on Monday, October 17, 2011 ...
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Award / Grant

New Honor for Randy Weston

Source: The Independent Ear by Willard Jenkins
May 11, 2011

NEA JAZZ MASTER RANDY WESTON TO RECEIVE HIS MAJESTY KING MOHAMMED VI'S HONOR FOR HIS LIFELONG COMMITMENT TO MOROCCO'S GNAOUA MUSIC TRADITION ON MAY 11

The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), New York's premiere French cultural center, welcomes leading Moroccan cultural and intellectual figures for a series of talks from May 1-21 on the occasion of the fourth edition of its annual World Nomads Festival, which this year celebrates the arts and culture of Morocco. On May 11, Randy Weston ...
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