Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

and

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

, whom he cited in a 2018 video as among pianists he counted as influences, as well as

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

and

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

."Randy Weston talks about his new solo double CD Sound"
YouTube video, March 27, 2018. Beginning in the 1950s, Weston worked often with trombonist and arranger

Melba Liston Melba Doretta Liston (January 13, 1926 – April 23, 1999) was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. Other than those playing in all-female bands she was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, ...

. Described as "America's African Musical Ambassador", Weston once said: "What I do I do because it's about teaching and informing everyone about our most natural cultural phenomenon. It's really about Africa and her music."

Biography

Early life

Randolph Edward Weston was born on April 6, 1926, to Vivian (''née'' Moore) and Frank Weston and was raised in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, where his father owned a restaurant. His mother was from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and his father was of Jamaican-

Panamanian Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For mo ...

descent, a staunch Garveyite, who passed self-reliant values to his son. Weston studied classical piano as a child and took dance lessons.Kelley (2012)
''Africa Speaks, America Answers''
p. 44. He graduated from

Boys High School Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where he had been sent by his father because of the school's reputation for high standards. Weston took piano lessons from someone known as Professor Atwell who, unlike his former piano teacher Mrs Lucy Chapman, allowed him to play songs outside the classical music repertoire. Drafted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Weston served three years from 1944, reaching the rank of staff sergeant, and was stationed for a year in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Japan.Giovanni Russonello
"Randy Weston, Pianist Who Traced Roots of Jazz to Africa, Dies at 92"
''The New York Times'', September 1, 2018. On his return to Brooklyn he ran his father's restaurant, which was frequented by many jazz musicians. Among Weston's piano heroes were

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

, and his cousin

Wynton Kelly Wynton Charles Kelly (December 2, 1931 – April 12, 1971) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his lively, blues-based playing and as one of the finest accompanists in jazz. He began playing professionally at the age of ...

, but it was

who made the biggest impact, as Weston described in a 2003 interview: "When I first heard Monk, I heard Monk with

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

. When I heard Monk play, his sound, his direction, I just fell in love with it. I spent about three years just hanging out with Monk. I would pick him up in the car and bring him to Brooklyn and he was a great master because, for me, he put the magic back into the music."

Early career: 1940s–50s

In the late 1940s Weston began performing with

Bullmoose Jackson Benjamin Clarence "Bull Moose" Jackson (April 22, 1919 – July 31, 1989)Allmusic biography Accessed January 2008. was an American blues and rhythm-and-blues singer and saxophonist, who was most successful in the late 1940s. He is considered a ...

, Frank Culley and

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was ...

. In 1951, retreating from the atmosphere of drug use common on the New York jazz scene, Weston moved to

Lenox, Massachusetts Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The town is based in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and T ...

, in

the Berkshires The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

. There at the Music Inn, a venue where jazz historian

Marshall Stearns Marshall Winslow Stearns (October 18, 1908 – December 18, 1966) was an American jazz critic and musicologist. He was the founder of the Institute of Jazz Studies. Biography Stearns was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Edith Baker Wins ...

taught, Weston first learned about the African roots of jazz. He would return in subsequent summers to perform at the Music Inn, where he wrote his composition "Berkshire Blues", interacting with artists and intellectuals such as

Geoffrey Holder Geoffrey Lamont Holder (August 1, 1930 – October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, dancer, musician, and artist. He was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet before his film career began in 1957 with an appearance in ' ...

Babatunde Olatunji Michael Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist, and recording artist. Early life Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Niger ...

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

and Willis James, about which experience Weston said: "I got a lot of my inspiration for African music by being at Music Inn.... They were all explaining the African-American experience in a global perspective, which was unusual at the time." Weston worked with

Kenny Dorham McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention or public ...

in 1953, and in 1954 with

Cecil Payne Cecil Payne (December 14, 1922 – November 27, 2007) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, New York. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute. He played with other prominent jazz musicians, in particular Dizzy Gilles ...

, before forming his own trio and quartet and releasing his debut recording as a leader in 1954, '' Cole Porter in a Modern Mood''. He was voted New Star Pianist in ''

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine's International Critics' Poll of 1955. Several fine albums followed, with the best being ''

Little Niles ''Little Niles'' is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1958 and first released on the United Artists label. The album was later released as part of a Blue Note compilation under the same title. All the tracks are Weston ori ...

'' near the end of that decade, dedicated to his children Niles and Pamela, with all the tunes being written in 3/4 time.

, as well as playing trombone on the record, provided excellent arrangements for a sextet playing several of Weston's best compositions: the title track, "Earth Birth", "Babe's Blues", "Pam's Waltz", and others.

1960s–70s

In the 1960s, Weston's music prominently incorporated African elements, as shown on the large-scale suite '' Uhuru Afrika'' (1960, with the participation of poet

) and ''

Highlife Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (British colony), history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions ...

'' (full title: '' Music from the New African Nations featuring the Highlife''), the latter recorded in 1963, two years after Weston traveled for the first time to Africa, as part of a U.S. cultural exchange programme to

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

(the contingent also including Langston Hughes, musicians

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

and

Ahmed Abdul-Malik Ahmed Abdul-Malik (born Jonathan Tim, Jr.; January 30, 1927 – October 2, 1993) was an American jazz double bassist and oud player. Abdul-Malik is remembered for integrating Middle Eastern and North African music styles in his jazz music.Kelsey ...

, and singers

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

and

Brock Peters Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in th ...

). On both these albums he teamed up with the arranger

. ''Uhuru Afrika'', or ''Freedom Africa'', is considered a historic landmark album that celebrates several new African countries obtaining their Independence. In addition, during these years his band often featured the tenor saxophonist

Booker Ervin Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – August 31, 1970) was an American tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassi ...

. Weston covered the Nigerian

Bobby Benson Bernard Olabinjo "Bobby" Benson (11 April 1922 – 14 May 1983) was an entertainer and musician who had considerable influence on the Nigerian music scene, introducing big band and Caribbean idioms to the Highlife style of popular West African m ...

's piece "Niger Mambo", which included Caribbean and jazz elements within a

style, and has recorded this number many times throughout his career. In 1967, Weston traveled throughout Africa with a U.S. cultural delegation. The last stop of the tour was

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, where he decided to settle, running his African Rhythms Club in

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

for five years, from 1967 to 1972. He said in a 2015 interview: "We had everything in there from

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

singers to singers from the Congo.... The whole idea was to trace African people wherever we are and what we do with music." In 1972, he produced ''

Blue Moses ''Blue Moses'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Randy Weston featuring performances recorded in 1972 and released on the CTI label.

'' for

CTI Records CTI Records (Creed Taylor Incorporated) is a jazz record label founded in 1967 by Creed Taylor. CTI was a subsidiary of A&M before becoming independent in 1970. Its first album was '' A Day in the Life'' by guitarist Wes Montgomery in 1967. T ...

, a best-selling record on which he plays electric keyboard. As he explained in a July 2018 interview, "We were still living in Tangier, so my son and I came from Tangier to do the recording, but when I got there, Creed Taylor said his formula is electric piano. I was not happy with that, but it was my only hit record. People loved it." In the summer of 1975, he played at the Festival of Tabarka in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, North Africa (later known as the

Tabarka Jazz Festival The Tabarka Jazz Festival ( ar, مهرجان طبرقة للجاز ) is an annual festival of jazz held in the coastal town of Tabarka in Tunisia. Established in 1973 for four years, it was revived again in 1997. The Tabarka Jazz Festival is held ...

), accompanied by his son Azzedin Weston on percussion, with other notable acts including

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

. In 1977, Weston participated in

FESTAC The World Festival of Black Arts (French: Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres), also known as FESMAN, is a month-long culture and arts festival that takes place in Africa. The festival features poetry, sculpture, painting, music, cinema, theatre, f ...

, the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, held in Lagos, Nigeria; other artists appearing there included

Osibisa Osibisa are a Ghanaian-British Afro-Rock band founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London based Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in ...

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, a ...

, Bembeya Jazz,

Louis Moholo Louis Tebogo Moholo (born 10 March 1940), is a South African jazz drummer. He has been a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai. Biography Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The Blue ...

Dudu Pukwana Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist, composer and pianist (although not known for his piano playing). Early years in South Africa Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, S ...

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

and

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

Later career

For a long stretch Weston recorded infrequently on smaller record labels. He also made a two-CD recording ''

The Spirits of Our Ancestors ''The Spirits Of Our Ancestors'' is an album by pianist Randy Weston that was recorded in 1991 and issued on the Verve label. While all of the compositions (with the exception of one traditional Moroccan song) were composed by Weston himself, the ...

'' (recorded 1991, released 1992), which featured arrangements by his long-time collaborator

. The album contained new, expanded versions of many of his well-known pieces and featured an ensemble including some African musicians, with guests such as

and

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

also contributing. The music director was saxophonist

Talib Kibwe T. K. Blue (also known as Talib Kibwe, born Eugene Rhynie, February 7, 1953)TK Blue Artist Profile
Motéma Mu ...

(also known as T. K. Blue), who subsequently continued in that role. ''The Spirits of Our Ancestors'' has been described as "one of the most imaginative explorations of 'world jazz' ever recorded." Weston produced a series of albums in a variety of formats: solo, trio, mid-sized groups, and collaborations with the

Gnawa The Gnawa (or Gnaoua, Ghanawa, Ghanawi, Gnawi'; Arabic: ڭناوة) are an ethnic group inhabiting Morocco. The name Gnawa probably originated in the indigenous language of North Africa and the Sahara Desert. The phonology of this term accordi ...

musicians of Morocco. His most popular compositions include " Hi-Fly", which he said was inspired by his experience of being 6' 8" and looking down at the ground, "Little Niles", named for his son (who was later known as Azzedin), "African Sunrise", "Blue Moses", "The Healers", and "Berkshire Blues". Weston's compositions have frequently been recorded by other prominent musicians, including

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the ...

, and others. A five-night celebration of Weston's music took place at the

Montreal Jazz Festival The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fest ...

in 1995, featuring gnawa musicians and a duet with saxophonist David Murray. In 2002, Weston performed with bassist James Lewis for the inauguration of the

Bibliotheca Alexandrina The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Latin for "Library of Alexandria"; arz, مكتبة الإسكندرية ', ) is a major library and cultural center on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. It is a commemoration of the Library ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, Egypt. During the same year he performed with Gnawa musicians at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

at the invitation of the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. Weston also played at the

Kamigamo Shrine is an important Shinto sanctuary on the banks of the Kamo River in north Kyoto, first founded in 678. Its formal name is the . It is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan and is one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which ...

in Japan in 2005. On June 21, 2009, he participated in a memorial at the Jazz Gallery in New York for Ghanaian drummer

Kofi Ghanaba Guy Warren of Ghana, also known as Kofi Ghanaba (4 May 1923 – 22 December 2008), was a Ghanaian musician, best known as the inventor of Afro-jazz — "the reuniting of African-American jazz with its African roots" — and as a member of The T ...

(formerly known as Guy Warren), whose composition "Love, the Mystery of..." Weston used as his

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

for some 40 years. In 2013, Sunnyside released Weston's album ''The Roots of the Blues'', a duo session with tenor saxophonist

Billy Harper Billy Harper (born January 17, 1943) is an American jazz saxophonist, "one of a generation of John Coltrane, Coltrane-influenced tenor saxophonists" with a distinctively stern, hard-as-nails sound on his instrument.Chris KelseyBilly Harper Biogr ...

. On November 17, 2014, as part of the

London Jazz Festival The London Jazz Festival is a music festival held every November. It takes place in London venues such as the Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall and in smaller jazz clubs, such as Ronnie Scott's and the Vortex Jazz Club. It is produced by Ser ...

, Weston played a duo concert with Harper at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

Kevin Le Gendre Kevin Le Gendre is a British journalist, broadcaster and author whose work focuses on Black music. He is deputy editor of '' Echoes'' magazine, has written for a wide range of publications, including ''Jazzwise'', ''MusicWeek'', ''Vibrations'', ' ...

in his review said the two musicians reached "the kind of advanced conversational intimacy only master players achieve." In 2015 Weston was artist-in-residence at

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

in New York, participating in a lecture series, performing, and mentoring students. Weston celebrated his 90th birthday in 2016 with a concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, among other activities, and continued thereafter to tour and speak internationally. He performed at the Gnawa Festival in Morocco in April 2016, took part in the

Spoleto Festival The ''Festival dei Due Mondi'' (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of conce ...

Charleston, SC Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of ...

, on June 2, and was among the opening acts at the 50th

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

. In July 2016 he was a keynote speaker at the 32nd World Conference of the

International Society for Music Education The International Society for Music Education (ISME) is a professional organization of persons involved with music education. It was founded in Brussels in 1953 during the UNESCO-sponsored conference on "The Role and Place of Music in the Educa ...

in Glasgow. ''An African Nubian Suite'' (2017) is a recording of a concert at the Institute of African American Affairs of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

on April 8, 2012, Easter Sunday, with

Cecil Bridgewater Cecil Bridgewater (born October 10, 1942) is an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Bridgewater was born in Urbana, Illinois and studied at the University of Illinois. He and brother Ron formed the Bridgewater Brothers Band in 1969, and in the 197 ...

, Robert Trowers, Howard Johnson, T. K. Blue, Billy Harper,

Alex Blake Alex Blake (born Alejandro Blake Fearon Jr.) is a jazz bass player. Biography Blake was born in Panama and moved to the United States at the age of 7, growing up in Brooklyn, NY. He began his career with Sun Ra in his band Arkestra. He became o ...

Lewis Nash Lewis Nash (born December 30, 1958) is an American jazz drummer. According to ''Modern Drummer'' magazineNashhas one of the longest discographies in jazz and has played on over 400 records, earning him the honor of Jazz's Most Valuable Player ...

Candido Candido is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Candido Amantini (1914–1992), Italian Roman Catholic priest * Candido Camero known simply as "Candido" (1921-2020), Cuban percussionist * Candido Jac ...

, Ayodele Maakheru, Lhoussine Bouhamidy, Saliou Souso, Martin Kwaku Obeng,

Min Xiao-Fen Min Xiao-Fen () is a Chinese-American pipa player, vocalist, and composer known for her work in traditional Chinese music, contemporary classical music, and jazz. Life Min Xiao-Fen studied with her father, Min Jiqian (闵季骞), a music profess ...

, Tanpani Demda Cissoko, Neil Clarke and Ayanda Clarke, and the poet

Jayne Cortez Jayne Cortez (May 10, 1934 – December 28, 2012) was an African-American poet, activist, small press publisher and spoken-word performance artist whose voice is celebrated for its political, surrealistic and dynamic innovations in lyricism and ...

. Describing it as an "epic work", the ''Black Grooves'' reviewer wrote that ''The African Nubian Suite'' "traces the history of the human race through music, with a narration by inspirational speaker Wayne B. Chandler, and introductions and stories by Weston in his role as griot.... Stressing the unity of humankind, Weston incorporates music that 'stretches across millennia'—from the Nubian region along the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Po ...

, to the holy city of

Touba Touba (Hassaniya Arabic: , 'Felicity'; Wolof: Tuubaa) is a city in central Senegal, part of Diourbel Region and Mbacké district. With a population of 529,176 in 2010, it is the second most populated Senegalese city after Dakar. It is the holy ...

in Senegal, to China's

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

, as well as African folk music and African American blues.... In these troubling times when our nation is divided by politics, race and religion, Weston uses ''The African Nubian Suite'' as a vehicle to remind us of our common heritage: 'We all come from the same place – we all come from Africa.'" Coinciding with his 91st birthday, Weston played four shows at the

Jazz Standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

, April 6–April 9, 2017, performing music from ''An African Nubian Suite''. Weston's last release, the double-CD set ''Sound'' (2018), was a recording of a solo piano concert that took place at the Hotel Montreux Palace, Switzerland, on July 17 and 18, 2001. In a review for the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', Larry Blumenfeld wrote: "If these two discs amount to a grand gesture, Mr. Weston communicates most and best via small details. The power of a single note. The meaning of a single note repeated many times. The force of a crashing left-hand figure. The tension held between two dissonant tones or within an unexpected silence. All of which are packed into the three-plus minutes of 'Love, The Mystery Of,' which was composed by the Ghanaian drummer Kofi Ghanaba (then known as Guy Warren) for Mr. Weston’s 1963 album 'Highlife,' and now, more than a half-century later, provides this album’s most riveting moments." Randy Weston died at his home in Brooklyn on the morning of September 1, 2018, aged 92.

Personal life

Weston's first marriage, to Mildred Mosley, ended in divorce. His son Azzedin having predeceased him, Weston was survived by his wife Fatoumata Mbengue-Weston, whom he met in 1994; three daughters, Cheryl, Pamela and Kim; seven grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

Autobiography

In October 2010,

Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Du ...

published ''African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston'', "composed by Randy Weston, arranged by Willard Jenkins". It was hailed as "an important addition to the jazz historiography and a long anticipated read for fans of this giant of African American music, aka jazz."Ian Patterson
Review of ''The Autobiography Of Randy Weston: African Rhythms''
All About Jazz, October 14, 2010. Reviewer Larry Reni Thomas wrote: "Randy Weston’s long-anticipated, much-talked-about, consciousness-raising, African-centered autobiography, ''African Rhythms'', is a serious breath of fresh air and is a much-needed antidote in this world of mediocre musicians, and men. He takes the reader on a wonderful, exciting journey from America to Africa and back with the ease of a person who loved every minute of it. The book is hard to put down and is an engaging, pleasing literary work that is worthy of being required reading in any history or literature school course."

Awards and honors

* 1997:

Order of Arts and Letters The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

, France * 1999: ''Swing Journal'' Award, Japan * 2000: Black Star Award, Arts Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana * 2001:

NEA Jazz Master The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), every year honors up to seven jazz musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the self-proclaimed highest honors that the United States bestows upon ...

* 2006: Honorary degree,

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

* 2009: Giants of Jazz concert in his honor with

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was influenced by Louis ...

Geri Allen Geri Antoinette Allen (June 12, 1957 – June 27, 2017) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. In addition to her career as a performer and bandleader, Allen was also an associate professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh ...

Cyrus Chestnut Cyrus Chestnut (born January 17, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for ''Time'', wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes ...

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

Mulgrew Miller Mulgrew Miller (August 13, 1955 – May 29, 2013) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. As a child he played in churches and was influenced on piano by Ramsey Lewis and then Oscar Peterson. Aspects of their styles remained in ...

and

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...

. * 2011:

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

award. * 2011: Honored by King

Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Moham ...

for "lifelong engagement with Morocco and deep commitment to bringing Morocco's Gnaoua music tradition to the attention of the Western world" * 2011: Honored by

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) is an American educational foundation. It conducts research on issues affecting African Americans, publishes a yearly report on key legislation, and sponsors issue forums, leadership seminars and ...

at the Jazz Issue Forum and Concert during the 40th Annual Legislative Conference * 2012: Honorary degree of Doctor of Music from

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...

* 2013: Honorary degree,

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

* 2014: Doris Duke Artist Award * 2014: JJA Jazz Award, Trio or Duo of the Year: Randy Weston – Billy Harper * 2015: JJA Jazz Award, Lifetime Achievement in Jazz * 2016: Malcolm X Black Unity award, National Association of Kawaida Organizations (NAKO) with the International African Arts Festival (IAAF) * 2016: ''

'' Hall of Fame. * 2016:

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

Fellowship Award * 2017:

National Jazz Museum in Harlem The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is a museum dedicated to preservation and celebration of the jazz history of Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. The idea for the museum was conceived in 1995. The museum was founded in 1997 by Leonard Garment, co ...

Legends AwardRuss Musto
"National Jazz Museum in Harlem Benefit Spotlights Young Stars"
''DownBeat'', June 19, 2017.

Discography

As leader

* 1954: '' Cole Porter in a Modern Mood'' (

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

) - 10-inch LP * 1955: '' The Randy Weston Trio'' (Riverside) - 10-inch LP * 1955: '' Get Happy with the Randy Weston Trio'' (Riverside) * 1956: '' With These Hands...'' (Riverside) * 1955–56: '' Trio and Solo'' (Riverside) - includes all tracks on ''The Randy Weston Trio'' * 1956: ''

Jazz à la Bohemia ''Jazz à la Bohemia'' (also released as ''Greenwich Village Jazz'') is a live album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston's trio with saxophonist Cecil Payne which was recorded in 1956 at the Café Bohemia in Greenwich Village and released on th ...

'' (Riverside) * 1956: ''

The Modern Art of Jazz by Randy Weston ''The Modern Art of Jazz by Randy Weston'' (also released as ''How High the Moon'') is a jazz album by American pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1956 and released on the Dawn label. Reception Allmusic awarded the album 3 stars, with the review b ...

'' (

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

) - also released as ''How High the Moon'' (Biograph) * 1957: '' Piano á la Mode'' (

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

) * 1958: '' New Faces at Newport'' ( MetroJazz) * 1959: ''

'' (

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

) * 1959: ''

Destry Rides Again ''Destry Rides Again'' is a 1939 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey ...

'' (United Artists) * 1959: '' Live at the Five Spot'' (United Artists) * 1960: '' Uhuru Afrika'' (

Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

) * 1963: ''

'' (

Colpix Colpix Records was the first recording company for Columbia Pictures–Screen Gems. Colpix got its name from combining Columbia (Col) and Pictures (Pix). CBS, which owned Columbia Records, then sued Columbia Pictures for trademark infringement o ...

) * 1964: ''

Randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...

'' (Bakton) - later released as ''African Cookbook'' (Atlantic Records, Atlantic) in 1972 * 1965: ''Berkshire Blues'' (Freedom Records, Freedom [1977]) * 1964–65: ''Blues'' (Trip) * 1966: ''Monterey '66'' (Verve Records, Verve) * 1969: ''African Cookbook'' (Polydor Records, Polydor) * 1969: ''Niles Littlebig'' (Polydor) * 1972: ''

Blue Moses ''Blue Moses'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Randy Weston featuring performances recorded in 1972 and released on the CTI label.

'' (CTI Records, CTI) * 1973: ''Tanjah (album), Tanjah'' (Polydor) * 1974: ''Carnival (Randy Weston album), Carnival'' (Freedom) * 1974: ''Informal Solo Piano'' (Hi-Fly) * 1975: ''Blues to Africa'' (Freedom) * 1975: ''African Nite'' (Owl) * 1975: ''African Rhythms'' (Chant du Monde) * 1976: ''Randy Weston Meets Himself'' (Pausa Records, Pausa) * 1976: ''Perspective'' (Denon Records, Denon) * 1978: ''Rhythms-Sounds Piano'' (Cora) * 1984: ''Blue'' (Arch) * 1987: ''The Healers (album), The Healers'' (Black Saint Records, Black Saint) - with David Murray * 1989: ''Portraits of Thelonious Monk: Well You Needn't'' (Verve) * 1989: ''Portraits of Duke Ellington: Caravan'' (Verve) * 1989: ''Self Portraits: The Last Day'' (Verve) * 1991: ''

'' (Verve) * 1992: ''Marrakech in the Cool of the Evening'' (Verve/Gitanes) * 1992: ''The Splendid Master Gnawa Musicians of Morocco'' (Verve/Gitanes) * 1993: ''Volcano Blues'' (Verve/Gitanes) * 1995: ''Saga'' (Verve) * 1997: ''Earth Birth'' [featuring Montreal String Orchestra] (Verve) * 1998: ''Khepera (album), Khepera'' (Verve) * 1999: ''Spirit! The Power of Music'' (Arkadia Jazz) * 2002: ''Ancient Future'' (Mutable) * 2003: ''Live In St. Lucia (image ID-3007RW) * 2004: ''Nuit Africa'' (Enja Records, Enja) * 2006: ''Zep Tepi'' (Random Chance) * 2009: ''The Storyteller'' (Motéma Music, Motéma) * 2013: ''The Roots of the Blues'' ( Sunnyside) * 2017: ''The African Nubian Suite'' (African Rhythms) * 2018: ''Sound — Solo Piano'' (African Rhythms)

As sideman

With Roy Brooks *''Duet in Detroit'' (Enja, 1984 [1993]) With Charles Mingus *''Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert'' (Columbia, 1972)

References

External links

Randy Weston official site

(From The Archives)", ''JazzProfiles'', October 7, 2013
"Profile: Randy Weston"
by Arnold Jay Smith
Randy Weston video interview
at underyourskin
Black History Special: Jazz Legend Randy Weston on His Life and Celebration of "African Rhythms"
''Democracy Now!'', February 20, 2012
Transcript of conversation with Randy Weston
National Endowment for the Arts, April 21, 2011.

''Huffington Post'', December 2, 2015. * Bilal Qureshi
"Even As A Musical Ambassador For The U.S., Randy Weston Has Always Played For Africa"
NPR, February 28, 2017
"Randy Weston: Music is Life Itself"
''NewMusicBox'', a conversation with Frank J. Oteri featuring video footage of Weston's comments, published August 1, 2018. * Tom Reney
"Randy Weston, Jazz Giant, 1926-2018"
''Jazz à la Mode'', New England Public Radio, September 3, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Randy Randy Weston, 1926 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American pianists 20th-century jazz composers African jazz (genre) pianists African-American jazz pianists American jazz composers American jazz educators American jazz pianists American male jazz composers American male pianists American musicians of Jamaican descent CTI Records artists Enja Records artists Freedom Records artists Hard bop pianists Highlife musicians Inner City Records artists Jazz musicians from New York (state) Mainstream jazz pianists Military personnel from New York City Motéma Music artists Musicians from Brooklyn Pausa Records artists Post-bop pianists Riverside Records artists United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers Verve Records artists Writers from Brooklyn