''The Spirits Of Our Ancestors'' is an album by pianist

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

that was recorded in 1991 and issued on the

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

label. While all of the compositions (with the exception of one traditional Moroccan song) were composed by Weston himself, the music on the album is more specifically a collaborative arranging effort between Weston 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, ...

. The music on ''Spirits'' is played by an all-star cast of musicians, 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 ...

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 ...

Dewey Redman Walter Dewey Redman (May 17, 1931 – September 2, 2006) was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett. Redman mainly played tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also played ...

Idris Muhammad Idris Muhammad ( ar, إدريس محمد; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, R&B, and soul music and recorded with musicians such a ...

, and

Idrees Sulieman Idrees Sulieman (August 7, 1923 – July 23, 2002) was an American bop and hard bop trumpeter. Biography He was born Leonard Graham in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, later changing his name to Idrees Sulieman, after converting to Isl ...

. ''Spirits'' was originally intended to be a grand culmination of Weston's experience living in and absorbing the music of

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 ...

. The album was to be recorded with the local musicians he had been exposed to on location in Morocco; however, due to the onset of the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

around the time of recording, they decided to relocate to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. This change of plans did not affect the authenticity of the music. The main focus of the album, as stated in the liner notes, is to "pay homage to our musical predecessors" and to "celebrate the universal musical language that transcends race, color, and nationality."

Track listing

# "African Village Bedford-Stuyvesant" 3:21 # "The Healers" 10:48 # "African Cookbook" 17:16 # "La Elaha-Ella Allah/Morad Allah" (traditional) 6:43 # "The Call" 6:12 # "African Village Bedford-Stuyvesant 2" 8:30 # "The Seventh Queen" 16:28 # "Blue Moses" 12:01 # "African Sunrise" 19:54 # "A Prayer For Us All"

Personnel

- piano (not on 4) *

- trumpet (on 2,3,5,6,7,9) *

- trumpet (on 9) *

Benny Powell Benny Powell (March 1, 1930 – June 26, 2010) was an American jazz trombonist. He played both standard (tenor) trombone and bass trombone. Biography Born Benjamin Gordon Powell Jr in New Orleans, Louisiana, he first played professionally ...

- trombone (on 2,3,5,6,7,9) *

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

- flute, alt sax (on 2,5,6,7,9) *

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 ...

- tenor sax (on 2,3,5,6,7,9) *

- tenor sax, gaita (on 3 >8) *

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 ...

- bass (on 2,3,5,6,7,8,9) *

Jamil Nasser Jamil Nasser (born George Joyner, June 21, 1932 – February 13, 2010)Obituary
at

- bass (on 2,3,4,5,6,8,9) *

- drums (on 2,3,5,6,7,8,9) * Azzedin Weston - percussion (on 2,3,4,6,9) *

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Nake ...

- percussion (on 3,5,6,7,8,9) *

Yassir Chadly Yasser (also spelled Yaser, Yasir, or Yassir; ar, ياسر, ''Yāsir'') is an Arabic male name. Notable people with this given name * Yasir ibn Amir (died 615 C.E.) is known in the Islamic traditions as the second person in history to be martyr ...

- percussion, karkaba, vocal (on 4 >8) ;Production * Randy Weston – arranger, producer, liner notes * Rhashidah E. McNeill – liner notes * Yassir Chadly – arranger * Melba Liston – arranger * Jean-Philippe Allard – producer * Brian Bacchus – producer * Talib Kibwe – musical director * Jay Newland – engineer * Joe Lopes – assistant engineer * Cheung Ching Ming – photography * Daniel Richard – release preparation Randy Weston discography.
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spirits of Our Ancestors 1991 albums Randy Weston albums Albums arranged by Melba Liston Verve Records albums Antilles Records albums