Randy Weston: Difference between revisions

| name = Randy Weston

| image = Randy_Weston.jpg

| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist

| birth_name = Randolph Edward Weston

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|4|6|mf=y}}

| birth_place = [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City]], New York City, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|9|1|1926|4|6|mf=y}}

| death_place = Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.

| occupation = Musician, composer, bandleader

| instrument = Piano

| years_active = 1950s–2018

| label = [[Riverside Records|Riverside]], [[Antilles Records|Antilles]], [[Verve Records|Verve]], [[Motéma Music|Motéma]]

| associated_acts = [[Melba Liston]]

| website = {{URL|randyweston.info}}

Weston's piano style owed much to [[Duke Ellington]] and [[Thelonious Monk]],<ref>Ian Patterson, [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=38156 on Randy Weston African Rhythms Sextet: ''The Storyteller''], [[All About Jazz]], November 24, 2010.</ref> whom he cited in a 2018 video as among pianists he counted as influences, as well as [[Count Basie]], [[Nat King Cole]] and [[Earl Hines]].<ref name=Sound>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLIqhO6cwVI "Randy Weston talks about his new solo double CD Sound"], YouTube video, March 27, 2018.</ref> Beginning in the 1950s, Weston worked often with trombonist and arranger [[Melba Liston]].<ref name="Ginell">{{cite web |author1= Richard S. Ginell |title=Randy Weston |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-weston-mn0000396908/biography |website=AllMusic |accessdateaccess-date= August 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Smith">{{cite book |editor1-last=Carney Smith |editor1-first=Jessie |title=Notable Black American Women (Book 2) |date=1995 |publisher=Gale |isbn=0810391775 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/notableblackamer00jess/page/413 413]–415 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/notableblackamer00jess }}</ref>

Described as "America's African Musical Ambassador", heWeston 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."<ref>Hakim Abdul-Ali, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160616175109/http://www.charlestonchronicle.net/109074/2152/randy-weston-americas-african-musical-ambassador "Randy Weston: America's African Musical Ambassador"]}}, ''Charleston Chronicle'', June 15, 2016.</ref>

Randolph Edward Weston was born on April 6, 1926,<ref name=Russonello /> to Vivian (''née'' Moore) and Frank Weston and was raised in [[Brooklyn, New York]], where his father owned a restaurant.<ref>[[Robin Kelley|R. D. G. Kelley]] (2012). ''Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times''. Cambridge and London: [[Harvard University Press]], pp. 42–3.</ref> His mother was from [[Virginia]] and his father was of [[Jamaican people|Jamaican]]-[[Panamanian people|Panamanian]] descent, a staunch [[Garveyism|Garveyite]], who passed self-reliant values to his son.<ref>[http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/extra/article.php?id=4429 "Randy Weston Strikes A Chord With His Roots"], ''[[Gleaner Company|The Gleaner]]'', December 4, 2015.</ref><ref>Eric Jackson, [http://www.thepanamanews.com/2016/01/the-very-afrocentric-randy-weston/ "The very Afrocentric Randy Weston"], ''The Panama News'', January 14, 2016.</ref> Weston studied classical piano as a child and took dance lessons.<ref name=Kelley44>Kelley (2012), [https://books.google.co.ukcom/books?id=gduqiA16Ng8C&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=%22randy+weston%22+atwell&sourcepg=bl&ots=P6cYI3YK27&sig=2oFVmnMtx5H-uG4WRTJn0_QppOY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5ianigqHdAhXBV98KHaoFC1IQ6AEwDXoECCwQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22randy%20weston%22%20atwell&f=falsePA44 ''Africa Speaks, America Answers''], p. 44.</ref> He graduated from [[Boys and Girls High School|Boys High School]] 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.<ref>Randy Weston and Willard Jenkins, ''African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston''], Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2010, pp. 25, 26.</ref><ref name=Kelley44 />

Drafted into the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] during [[World War II]], Weston served three years from 1944, reaching the rank of staff sergeant, and was stationed for a year in [[Okinawa]], Japan.<ref name=Russonello>Giovanni Russonello, [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/obituaries/randy-weston-dead.html "Randy Weston, Pianist Who Traced Roots of Jazz to Africa, Dies at 92"], ''The New York Times'', September 1, 2018.</ref><ref name=Patterson /> On his return to Brooklyn, he ran his father's restaurant, which was frequented by many jazz musicians. Among Weston's piano heroes were [[Count Basie]], [[Nat King Cole]], [[Art Tatum]], [[Duke Ellington]], and his cousin [[Wynton Kelly]], but it was [[Thelonious Monk]] who made the biggest impact, as Weston described in a 2003 interview: "When I first heard Monk, I heard Monk with [[Coleman Hawkins]]. 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."<ref>[https://www.allaboutjazz.com/a-fireside-chat-with-randy-weston-randy-weston-by-aaj-staff.php&page=1 "A Fireside Chat With Randy Weston"], ''All About Jazz'', May 16, 2003.</ref>

===Early career: 1940s–50s1940s–'50s===

In the late 1940s Weston began performing with [[BullmooseBull Moose Jackson]], [[Frank Culley]] and [[Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson]]. In 1951, retreating from the atmosphere of drug use common on the New York jazz scene, Weston moved to [[Lenox, Massachusetts]], in [[the Berkshires]].<ref>Giovanni Russonello, [https://www.sfchronicle.com/nation/article/Randy-Weston-renowned-jazz-pianist-dies-at-92-13204527.php "Randy Weston, renowned jazz pianist, dies at 92"], ''San Francisco Chronicle'', September 4, 2018.</ref> There at the Music Inn, a venue where jazz historian [[Marshall Stearns]] taught, Weston first learned about the African roots of jazz.<ref>Ivan Hewett, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/11216655/Randy-Weston-interview-African-music-is-for-the-world.html "Randy Weston interview: 'African music is for the world'"], ''[[Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'', November 9, 2014.</ref> He would return in subsequent summers to perform at the Music Inn,<ref name=Patterson /> where he wrote his composition "[[Berkshire Blues]]", interacting with artists and intellectuals such as [[Geoffrey Holder]], [[Babatunde Olatunji]], [[Langston Hughes]] 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."<ref>[http://www.musicinn.org/1950s.html "The 1950s"], Music Inn Archives website.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RePLZXRGzZs "Randy Weston The Music Inn"], Berkshire Jazz, September 29, 2011. YouTube video.</ref>

Weston worked with [[Kenny Dorham]] in 1953, and in 1954 with [[Cecil Payne]], before forming his own trio and quartet and releasing his debut recording as a leader in 1954, ''[[Cole Porter in a Modern Mood]]''. HeWeston was voted New Star Pianist in ''[[DownBeat]]'' magazine's International Critics' Poll of 1955.<ref name=Moon /> Several fine albums followed, with the best being ''[[Little Niles]]'' near the end of that decade, dedicated to his children Niles and Pamela, with all the tunes being written in 3/4 time.<ref>Njoroge Njoroge, [https://books.google.co.ukcom/books?id=hJtqDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT102&lpg=PT102&dq=%22pam%27s+waltz%22&sourcepg=bl&ots=UxxUIaGMxV&sig=m7D08rmPaj2cvLmT93feaQksf9w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjiqK3m0K3dAhWBaVAKHa1bC-IQ6AEwK3oECBAQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22pam's%20waltz%22&f=falsePT102 ''Chocolate Surrealism: Music, Movement, Memory, and History in the Circum-Caribbean''], University Press of Mississippi, 2016, p. 103.</ref> [[Melba Liston]], 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.

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 [[Langston Hughes]]) and ''[[Highlife (Randy Weston album)|Highlife]]'' (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]], [[Nigeria]]<ref>Meg Sullivan, [http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-historian-sings-praises-of-229948 "UCLA historian sings praises of Afro-Jazz pioneers"], UCLA Newsroom, March 8, 2012.</ref> (the contingent also including Langston Hughes, musicians [[Lionel Hampton]] and [[Ahmed Abdul-Malik]], and singers [[Nina Simone]] and [[Brock Peters]]).<ref>[[Valerie Wilmer]], "Back to the African heartbeat" (interview with Randy Weston), in ''Jazz People'', London: [[Allison and Busby]], 1970, pp. 83, 85.</ref> On both these albums he teamed up with the arranger [[Melba Liston]]. ''Uhuru Afrika'', or ''Freedom Africa'', is considered a historic landmark album that celebrates several new African countries obtaining their Independence.<ref>The Independent Ear, [http://www.openskyjazz.com/2010/02/50-years-later-a-landmark-recording-session/ "50 Years Later: A Landmark recording session"], ''Open Sky Jazz'', February 27, 2010.</ref>

In addition, during these years, his band often featured the tenor saxophonist [[Booker Ervin]]. Weston covered the Nigerian [[Bobby Benson]]'s piece "Niger Mambo", which included Caribbean and jazz elements within a [[Highlife]] style, and has recorded this number many times throughout his career.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.bensonidonije.org/highlife/The%20African%20artist%20deserves%20recognition.pdf|title = The African artist deserves recognition|author = Benson Idonije|accessdateaccess-date = November 3, 2009|url-status = dead|archiveurlarchive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110725062104/http://www.bensonidonije.org/highlife/The%20African%20artist%20deserves%20recognition.pdf|archivedatearchive-date = July 25, 2011}}</ref>

In 1967, Weston traveled throughout Africa with a U.S. cultural delegation. The last stop of the tour was [[Morocco]], where he decided to settle, running his African Rhythms Club in [[Tangier]]<ref>Jeremy D. Goodwin, [https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2013/04/15/jazz-pianist-randy-weston-looks-music-african-roots/U4hIHxbIkEciZVvnWBbMzM/story.html "Jazz pianist's musical heart has an African pulse"], ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', April 16, 2013.</ref> for five years, from 1967 to 1972. He said in a 2015 interview: "We had everything in there from [[Chicago blues]] singers to singers from the Congo.... The whole idea was to trace African people wherever we are and what we do with music."<ref>Matt Stieb, [http://www.sacurrent.com/sanantonio/randy-weston-on-his-trailblazing-jazz-career/Content?oid=2439156 "Randy Weston On His Trailblazing Jazz Career"], ''San Antonio Current'', May 20, 2015.</ref>

In 1972, he produced ''[[Blue Moses (album)|Blue Moses]]'' for the [[CTI Records]], 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."<ref>Frank J. Oteri, [https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/randy-weston-music-is-life-itself/ "Randy Weston: Music is Life Itself"], ''NewMusicBox'', August 1, 2018.</ref> In the summer of 1975, he played at the Festival of Tabarka in [[Tunisia]], North Africa (later known as the [[Tabarka Jazz Festival]]), accompanied by his son Azzedin Weston on percussion, with other notable acts including [[Dizzy Gillespie]].

In 1977, heWeston participated in [[FESTAC 77|FESTAC]], the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, held in Lagos, Nigeria;<ref>[http://www.randyweston.info/randy-weston-autobiography.html "Autobiography"], Randy Weston website.</ref><ref>Gregg Reese, [http://ourweekly.com/news/2018/sep/06/pianist-randy-weston-passes-away-age-92/ "Pianist Randy Weston passes away at age 92"], ''Our Weekly'', September 6, 2018.</ref> other artists appearing there included [[Osibisa]], [[Miriam Makeba]], [[Bembeya Jazz National|Bembeya Jazz]], [[Louis Moholo]], [[Dudu Pukwana]], [[Donald Byrd]], [[Stevie Wonder]] and [[Sun Ra]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171028181802/http://blog.afropop.org/2011/01/history-of-world-festival-of-black-arts.html "The History of the World Festival of Black Arts & Culture / FESTAC"], Afropop, 20 January 2011.</ref><ref name="Collins">{{cite book

| first = John |authorlinkauthor-link=John Collins (musician/researcher)

[[File:Randy Weston1.jpg|thumb|Randy Weston, on February 19, 1984]]

For a long stretch Weston recorded infrequently on smaller record labels. He also made a two-CD recording ''[[The Spirits of Our Ancestors]]'' (recorded 1991, released 1992), which featured arrangements by his long-time collaborator [[Melba Liston]]. 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 [[Dizzy Gillespie]] and [[Pharoah Sanders]] also contributing. The music director was saxophonist [[Talib Kibwe]] (also known as T. K. Blue), who subsequently continued in that role.<ref>[http://www.randyweston.info/randy-weston-sidemen-pages/tk-blue.html "T.K. Blue"], Randy Weston African Rhythms.</ref> ''The Spirits of Our Ancestors'' has been described as "one of the most imaginative explorations of 'world jazz' ever recorded."<ref name="Moon">{{cite book|author= Tom Moon|title=1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die|url=https://archive.org/details/1000recordingsto00moon_0|url-access= registration|accessdateaccess-date=August 18, 2018|date=August 28, 2008 |publisher=Workman |isbn=978-0-7611-5385-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/1000recordingsto00moon_0/page/855 855]–}}</ref>

Weston produced a series of albums in a variety of formats: solo, trio, mid-sized groups, and collaborations with the [[Gnawa]] musicians of Morocco. His most popular compositions include "[[Hi-Fly (Randy Weston song)|Hi-Fly]]", which he said was inspired by his experience of being 6' 8" and looking down at the ground, [[Little Niles (song)|"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 othersuch prominent musicians, includingas [[Abdullah Ibrahim]],<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/album/reflections-mw0000309638 "Dollar Brand – Reflections"] (1965), AllMusic.</ref> [[Houston Person]],<ref>[https://www.discogs.com/Houston-Person-Very-Personal/master/1192958 "Houston Person – Very Personal"] (1981) at Discogs.</ref> and [[Booker Ervin]], andamong others.<ref>Matt Collar, [http://www.allmusic.com/album/structurally-sound-r138372/review Allmusic"Structurally Sound Review"], AllMusic. Retrieved December 9, 2010.</ref>

In 2002, Weston performed with bassist [[James Lewis (musician)|James Lewis]] for the inauguration of the [[Bibliotheca Alexandrina]] in [[Alexandria, Egypt|Alexandria]], Egypt. During the same year, heWeston performed with Gnawa musicians at [[Canterbury Cathedral]] at the invitation of the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]].<ref name="Major events">[http://www.randyweston.info/randy-weston-major-events.html "Major events and cultural activities"], Randy Weston website.</ref><ref>[http://www.dargnawa.org/DG%20Appearance.htm Biography], Dar Gnawa.</ref> Weston also played at the [[Kamigamo Shrine]] in Japan in 20052008.<ref name="Major events" />

On June 21, 2009, he participated in a memorial at the Jazz Gallery in New York for Ghanaian drummer [[Kofi Ghanaba]] (formerly known as Guy Warren),<ref>[http://www.lovevolv.org/2009/06/kofi-ghanaba-memorial-to-divine-drummer_08.html "Kofi Ghanaba: Memorial to the Divine Drummer"]. Presented by The Jazz Gallery and Jazzmobile as part of "Make Music New York", June 21, 2009.</ref> whose composition "Love, the Mystery of..." Weston used as his [[signature tune|theme]] for some 40 years.<ref>Weston and Jenkins, ''African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston'' (2010), p. 120.</ref>

In 2013, [[Sunnyside Records|Sunnyside]] released Weston's album ''The Roots of the Blues'', a duo session with tenor saxophonist [[Billy Harper]]. On November 17, 2014, as part of the [[London Jazz Festival]], Weston played a duo concert with Harper at the [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]]. [[Kevin Le Gendre]] in his review said the two musicians reached "the kind of advanced conversational intimacy only master players achieve."<ref>[http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com/pages/live-jazz-music-reviews/13339-randy-weston-and-billy-harper-deeper-than-blue-at-qeh-efg-london-jazz-festival "Randy Weston and Billy Harper – Deeper Than Blue at QEH, EFG London Jazz Festival"], ''Jazzwise'', November 18, 2014.</ref>

In 2015, Weston was artist-in-residence at [[The New School]] in New York, participating in a lecture series, performing, and mentoring students.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.newschool.edu/news/2015/07/randy-weston-artists-in-residence/|title=Randy Weston, 'Jazz Griot,' Among Illustrious Artists-in-Residence|website=New School News|publisher=The New School|date=July 13, 2015|access-date=May 8, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2015/09/04/jazz-great-randy-weston-joins-new-school-as-artist-in-residence/|title=Jazz Great Randy Weston Joins New School As Artist In Residence|author=Laura Sell|publisher=Duke University Press|date=September 4, 2015|access-date=May 8, 2023}}</ref>

Weston celebrated his 90th birthday in 2016<ref>Tom Reney, [http://nepr.net/music/2016/04/07/randy-weston/ "Randy Weston — HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY!"], New England Public Radio, April 7, 2016.</ref> with a concert at [[Carnegie Hall]],<ref>[https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2016/3/19/0900/PM/Randy-Westons-African-Rhythms/ "Carnegie Hall Presents Randy Weston's African Rhythms — Randy Weston's 90th Birthday Celebration"], Carnegie Hall, March 19, 2016.</ref> among other activities,<ref>Laura Sell, [https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2016/04/06/happy-90th-birthday-to-randy-weston/ "Happy 90th Birthday to Randy Weston"], News from Duke University Press, April 6, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://theperlichpost.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/happy-90th-birthday-randy-weston.html "Happy 90th Birthday Randy Weston!"], ''The Perlich Post'', April 6, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://patch.com/new-york/bed-stuy/randy-westons-90th-birthday-tributecelebration-0 "Randy Weston's 90th Birthday Tribute/Celebration"], ''Patch'' (Bed-Stuy), March 25, 2016.</ref><ref>A [http://sistasplace.org/randy-weston-90/ "Randy @ 90: All Star Birthday Tribute to Randy Weston"], SistasPlace.org, April 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/central-brooklyn-jazz-fes-central-library-dweck-cen-042616 "Central Brooklyn Jazz Festival: Randy Weston African Rhythms Quartet"], Brooklyn Public Library, April 26, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/afternoon-randy-weston-central-library-dweck-cen-043016 "An Afternoon with Randy Weston"], Dweck Center, April 30, 2016.</ref> and continued thereafter to tour and speak internationally. He performed at the [[GnaouaGnawa and World Music Festival|Gnawa Festival]] in Morocco in April 2016,<ref>Jane Cornwell, [http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com/pages/live-jazz-music-reviews/14222-randy-western-and-christian-scott-get-morocco-s-gnawa-festival-grooving "Randy Weston and Christian Scott Get Morocco's Gnawa Festival Grooving"], ''Jazzwise'', May 31, 2016.</ref> took part in the [[Spoleto Festival USA|Spoleto Festival]] in [[Charleston, SC]], on June 2,<ref>[https://spoletousa.org/all-about-randy-weston/ "All About Randy Weston"], Spoleto Festival USA, April 7, 2016.</ref><ref>Vincent Harris, [http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/pianist-randy-weston-seeks-the-heart-of-music-in-africa/Content?oid=5950550 "Pianist Randy Weston seeks the heart of music in Africa"], ''Charleston City Paper'', June 1, 2016.</ref><ref>Celeste McMaster, [http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/randy-weston-african-rhythms-sextet-takes-audiences-on-an-african-journey-of-artistry/Content?oid=5955659 "Randy Weston African Rhythms Sextet takes audiences on an African journey of artistry"], '' Charleston City Paper '', June 3, 2016.</ref><ref>Chris Haire, [http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/spoleto-continues-its-ambitious-exploration-of-the-black-experience-and-the-spectre-of-racism/Content?oid=5965040 "Spoleto continues its ambitious exploration of the black experience and the spectre of racism"], ''Charleston City Paper'', June 8, 2016.</ref> and was among the opening acts at the 50th [[Montreux Jazz Festival]].<ref>[http://www.euronews.com/2016/07/04/a-fusion-of-legends-and-prodigies-on-the-bill-at-montreux-jazz-festival "A Fusion of Legends and Prodigies at Montreux Jazz Festival"], ''Euronews'', July 4, 2016.</ref> In July 2016, he was a keynote speaker at the 32nd World Conference of the [[International Society for Music Education]] in Glasgow.<ref>[http://www.isme2016glasgow.org/speakers "Keynote Speakers"], 32nd World Conference, International Society for Music Education, Glasgow, UK, July 24–29, 2016.</ref>

''An African Nubian Suite'' (2017) is a recording of a concert at the Institute of African American Affairs of [[New York University]] on April 8, 2012, Easter Sunday, with [[Cecil Bridgewater]], [[Robert Trowers]], [[Howard Johnson (jazz musician)|Howard Johnson]], T. K. Blue, Billy Harper, [[Alex Blake]], [[Lewis Nash]], [[Candido]], Ayodele Maakheru, Lhoussine Bouhamidy, Saliou Souso, Martin Kwaku Obeng, [[Min Xiaofen|Min Xiao-Fen]], Tanpani Demda Cissoko, Neil Clarke and Ayanda Clarke, and the poet [[Jayne Cortez]].<ref>[http://africanastudies.as.nyu.edu/object/Weston.html "Randy Weston An African Nubian Suite"], Africana Studies, New York University.</ref><ref>Caryn Robbins, [http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Randy-Weston-to-Release-New-2-CD-Set-The-African-Nubian-Suite-120-20161122 "Randy Weston to Release New 2-CD Set 'The African Nubian Suite' 1/20"], ''Broadway World'', November 22, 2016.</ref> 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]], to the holy city of [[Touba]] in Senegal, to China's [[Shang dynasty]], 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.{{'"}}<ref>Brenda Nelson-Strauss, [http://blackgrooves.org/randy-weston-african-rhythms-the-african-nubian-suite/ "Randy Weston African Rhythms – The African Nubian Suite"], ''Black Grooves'', February 1, 2017.</ref> Coinciding with his 91st birthday, Weston played four shows at the [[Jazz Standard (jazz club)|Jazz Standard]], April 6–April 9, 2017, performing music from ''An African Nubian Suite''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/arts/music/randy-weston-brings-his-african-nubian-suite-to-the-jazz-standard.html|title=Randy Weston Brings His 'African Nubian Suite' to the Jazz Standard|newspaper=The New York Times|first= Giovanni|last= Russonello|date=March 30, 2017}}</ref>

Weston's last release, the double-CD set titled ''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.<ref>[http://www.randyweston.info/randy-weston-discography-pages/2018sound.html "SOUND solo piano"], Discography, Randy Weston African Rhythms.</ref> In a review for the ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', 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."<ref>Larry Blumenfeld, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/sound-by-randy-weston-review-trying-to-capture-joy-and-intensity-1517864440 "‘Sound’ by Randy Weston Review: Trying to Capture Joy and Intensity"], ''Wall Street Journal'', February 5, 2018.</ref>

In 2015–16, Weston's archives were acquired by the [[Jazz Research Initiative]] in collaboration with the [[Hutchins Center for African and African American Research]], Loeb Music Library, the [[Harvard College Library]], and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.<ref name=RWCollection>[http://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/research-projects/projects/randy-weston-collection "The Randy Weston Collection"], Jazz Research Initiative at the Hutchins Center.</ref> The Randy Weston Collection comprises hundreds of manuscripts, scores, videos, films, photographs, and more than 1,000 tape recordings, and among its highlights are correspondence with [[Langston Hughes]] and [[Alvin Ailey]]; photographs with [[Dizzy Gillespie]], [[Pharoah Sanders]], [[Muhammad Ali]], and [[Cornel West]]; and records of Weston's African Rhythms Club in Tangier, Morocco, from 1967 to 1972.<ref name=RWCollection />

* 2014: [[Jazz Journalists Association|JJA]] Jazz Award, Trio or Duo of the Year: Randy Weston -– Billy Harper<ref>[http://www.jjajazzawards.org/2014/04/2014-jja-jazz-awards-winners-music.html "Trio or Duo of the Year: Randy Weston — Billy Harper"], 2014 JJA Jazz Awards for Musical Achievement.</ref><ref>[https://www.jazzonline.gr/jazznews/awards/item/2662-2014-jja-jazz-awards.html "2014 JJA Jazz Awards"], ''JazzOnline'', April 16, 2014.</ref>

* 1956: ''[[The Modern Art of Jazz by Randy Weston]]'' ([[Dawn Records (American label)|Dawn]]) - also released as ''How High the Moon'' (Biograph)

* 1972: ''[[Blue Moses (album)|Blue Moses]]'' ([[CTI Records|CTI]])

* 1993: ''[[Volcano Blues]]'' (Verve/Gitanes)

* 1998: ''[[Khepera (album)|Khepera]]'' (Verve)

* [https://www.arts.gov/audio/randy-weston Transcript of conversation with Randy Weston], National Endowment for the Arts, April 21, 2011.

* [https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/randy-weston-music-is-life-itself/ "Randy Weston: Music is Life Itself"], ''[[NewMusicBox]]'', a conversation with Frank J. Oteri featuring video footage of Weston's comments, published August 1, 2018.

[[Category:20th-century American musicians of Jamaican descentpianists]]

[[Category:Highlife20th-century musiciansjazz composers]]

[[Category:PostAfrican-bopAmerican jazz pianists]]

[[Category:WritersJazz musicians from BrooklynNew York City]]

[[Category:FreedomPausa Records artists]]

[[Category:EnjaWriters Recordsfrom artistsBrooklyn]]

[[Category:PausaAmerican Recordspeople artistsof Panamanian descent]]