Weldon Jonathan Irvine Jr. (October 27, 1943 – April 9, 2002), also known as Master Wel, was an American composer, playwright, poet, pianist, organist, and keyboardist.

Biography

Irvine, an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, was born in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

, on October 27, 1943. He moved 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 ...

in 1965, settling in the St. Albans, Queens neighborhood. He was involved with various musical genres including

Jazz-Funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...

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 ...

, hip hop,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

, and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

. He served as the bandleader for jazz singer

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 was a mentor to many New York hip-hop artists, including Q-Tip and

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

. He wrote more than 500 songs, including the lyrics for "

To Be Young, Gifted and Black "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" is a song by Nina Simone with lyrics by Weldon Irvine. She introduced the song on August 17, 1969, to a crowd of 50,000 at the Harlem Cultural Festival, captured on broadcast video tape and released in 2021 as the ...

", performed live for the first time by Simone on the album '' Black Gold'' (1970). It has been dubbed the "official"

Civil Rights anthem Freedom songs were songs which were sung by participants in the civil rights movement. They are also called "civil rights anthems" or, in the case of songs which are more hymn-like, they are called "civil rights hymns." Freedom songs were an impo ...

. In 1998, he performed the keys for "Astronomy (8th Light)" on Black Star's album ''

Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star ''Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star'' (often called simply ''Black Star'') is the debut studio album by Black Star, a hip hop duo consisting of emcees Talib Kweli and Mos Def (the latter of whom now goes by Yasiin Bey). The album was released ...

''. In 1999, Irvine contributed on Mos Def's debut solo album ''

Black On Both Sides ''Black on Both Sides'' is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Mos Def, released on October 12, 1999, by Rawkus and Priority Records. Prior to its recording, Mos Def had collaborated with Talib Kweli for the album ''Mos Def & Talib Kwe ...

''. Irvine's last major project was ''The Price of Freedom'' (1999), a compilation of original songs by hip-hop, jazz, funk, and R&B artists to respond to the shooting of

Amadou Diallo In the early hours of February 4, 1999, an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean student named Amadou Diallo (born September 2, 1975) was fired upon with 41 rounds and shot a total of 19 times by four New York City Police Department plainclothes office ...

. In 2000, Irvine provided the vocal introductions to tracks on the first CD of the album Late Night Blues by UK Drum & Bass producer Big Bud. He co-wrote and performed vocals and played the Fender Rhodes on the first track entitled "Return of Spiritman". He also played the Fender Rhodes on closing track "Persian Blues". He later performed vocals, Fender Rhodes and Hammond organ on the track "Amigo Mio" (also by Big Bud), which appeared on the compilation ''Earth Volume 5''. Irvine committed suicide by shooting himself outside of EAB Plaza and in front of the

Nassau Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...

located in

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 ...

, on April 9, 2002.

Legacy

In 1976, Weldon's childhood friend Collis Davis produced a documentary ''The Edification of Weldon Irvine''. It was originally Davis' Thesis Film during his time at

NYU Film School The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

. In 2003,

Madlib Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), and Fr ...

Mr. Dibbs Mr. Dibbs (born Brad Forste) is an American DJ and hip hop producer. He is the Founder of 1200 HOBOS j/graff collective He was also one of the founders of Scribble Jam. Early life Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Forste was introduced to DJing aroun ...

and

Breakestra Breakestra is a ten-piece funk "orchestra" from Los Angeles, California, formed by Miles Tackett in 1996. Tackett, also known as "Musicman", records, composes, plays bass, upright cello, guitar, keyboards and drums. He also sings along with the ...

produced a tribute to Weldon Irvine, "Suite for Weldon". The following year, Madlib released the full-length album '' A Tribute to Brother Weldon''. In 2008, Q-Tip mentions Weldon in his song "Shaka", a tribute to the people who have helped him throughout the years and those who have died. In 2019, a feature-length documentary, ''Digging for Weldon Irvine'', was released by director Victorious De Costa.

Discography

As leader

*1972: '' Liberated Brother'' (Nodlew) *1973: ''

Time Capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...

'' (Nodlew) *1974: '' Cosmic Vortex - Justice Divine'' (

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

) *1974: ''In Harmony'' ( Strata-East) *1975: '' Spirit Man'' (

) *1976: '' Sinbad'' (

) *1979: '' The Sisters'' (Saucerman) *1989: ''Weldon & The Kats'' (Nodlew) *1994: ''Music Is the Key'' ( Luv N Haight) *1995: ''Keyboards Wild DJ's Smile'' (

Tuff City Records Tuff City Records is a New York-based record label founded by journalist Aaron Fuchs in 1981.Verna, Paul (1994)Tuff City Records Moves Forward and Looks Back" ''Billboard'', July 16, 1994, retrieved 2010-08-29 Initially concentrating on hip hop m ...

) *1998: ''Embrace the Positive'' (Nodlew) *1999: ''The Amadou Project: The Price of Freedom'' (Nodlew)

As sideman

With

Richard Groove Holmes Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes (May 2, 1931 – June 29, 1991) was an American jazz organist who performed in the hard bop and soul jazz genre. He is best known for his 1965 recording of "Misty (song), Misty". Career Holmes's first album, ...

*'' Comin' on Home'' (Blue Note, 1971) With

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

*'' Straight Life'' (CTI, 1971) With Big Bud * ''Late Night Blues'' (

Good Looking Records Good Looking Records is a jungle and drum & bass record label, formed in 1991 by producer LTJ Bukem. The label specializes in jazz-influenced and atmospheric, so-called Intelligent Drum & Bass. Overview The label releases music which includ ...

, 2000)
Earth Volume 5
(Track: Amigo Mio) (

, 2001) With Donald Blackman *''Listen'' (

Expansion Records Expansion Records is a British record label founded by Northern Soul DJ Richard Searling and Soul Bowl owner John Anderson. In 1989, DJ Author & Journalist Ralph Tee joined the label, both he and Searling run Expansion Records. Label hist ...

, 2002)

Charted singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, Weldon 1943 births 2002 suicides African-American jazz composers African-American jazz pianists American funk musicians Musicians from Hampton, Virginia People from St. Albans, Queens Strata-East Records artists Suicides by firearm in New York (state) Ubiquity Records artists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American composers Jazz musicians from Virginia American male pianists American male jazz composers American jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century jazz composers Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people