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{{Short description|American jazz pianist and composer (1926–2018)}}
{{for|the Ohio politician|Randy Weston (politician)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Randy Weston
| image = Randy_Weston.jpg
| caption = Weston in 2007
| 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
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|9|1|1926|4|6|mf=y}}
| death_place = Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
| genre = [[Jazz]], African jazz, world fusion
| occupation = Musician, composer, bandleader
| instrument = Piano
| years_active = 1950s–2018
| label
| associated_acts = [[Melba Liston]]
| website = {{URL|randyweston.info}}
}}
'''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.<ref>Kevin Le Gendre, [http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com/breaking-news/15036-randy-weston-06-04-26-01-09-18 "Randy Weston 06/04/26 – 01/09/18"], ''[[Jazzwise]]'', September 3, 2018.</ref>
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 |
Described as "America's African Musical Ambassador",
==Biography==
===Early life===
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.
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:
In the late 1940s Weston began performing with [[
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]]''.
===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 [[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|
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
In 1977,
| last = Collins
| first = John |
| title = West African Pop Roots
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ihWr03mTSJYC&q=miriam+makeba+second+world+black+and+african+festival+of+arts+and+culture&pg=PA65
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===Later career===
[[File:Randy Weston1.jpg|thumb|
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|
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
A five-night celebration of Weston's music took place at the [[Montreal Jazz Festival]] in 1995, featuring gnawa musicians and a duet with saxophonist [[David Murray (saxophonist)|David Murray]].<ref>Rob Adams, [https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/16692127.obituary-randy-weston-jazz-musician/ "Obituary - Randy Weston, jazz musician"], ''[[The Glasgow Herald]]'', September 6, 2018.</ref>
In 2002, Weston performed with bassist [[James Lewis (musician)|James Lewis]] for the inauguration of the [[Bibliotheca Alexandrina]] in [[
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 [[
''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
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
Randy Weston died at his home in Brooklyn on the morning of September 1, 2018, aged 92.<ref>Nate Chinen, [http://www.wbgo.org/post/pianist-randy-weston-eloquent-spokesman-jazzs-bond-african-culture-dies-92 "Pianist Randy Weston, An Eloquent Spokesman For Jazz's Bond with African Culture, Dies at 92"], WBGO, September 2, 2016.</ref>
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==Archives==
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 />
== Awards and honors ==
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* 2013: Honorary degree, [[New England Conservatory of Music]]<ref>[http://necmusic.edu/commencement-speaker-honorary-degree-recipients "NEC Announces 2013 Honorary Degree Recipients"], New England Conservatory, March 25, 2013.</ref>
* 2014: Doris Duke Artist Award<ref>[http://ddpaa.org/artist/randy-weston/ "Randy Weston"], Doris Duke Artist Award, 2014.</ref>
* 2014: [[Jazz Journalists Association|JJA]] Jazz Award, Trio or Duo of the Year: Randy Weston
* 2015: JJA Jazz Award, Lifetime Achievement in Jazz<ref>[http://www.jjajazzawards.org/p/2015.html "Lifetime Achievement in Jazz: Randy Weston"], 2015 JJA Jazz Awards for Musical Achievement.</ref>
* 2016: Malcolm X Black Unity award, National Association of Kawaida Organizations (NAKO) with the International African Arts Festival (IAAF)<ref>[http://design2pro.com/ourtimepress/2016/160/files/assets/downloads/page0006.pdf "NAKO 47th Annual Malcolm X Black Unity Awards Program"], ''[[Our Time Press]]'', Vol. 21, No. 20, May 12–18, 2016, p. 6.</ref>
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* 1955–56: ''[[Trio and Solo]]'' (Riverside) - includes all tracks on ''The Randy Weston Trio''
* 1956: ''[[Jazz à la Bohemia]]'' (Riverside)
* 1956: ''[[The Modern Art of Jazz by Randy Weston]]'' ([[Dawn Records (American label)|Dawn]]) - also released as ''How High the Moon'' (Biograph)
* 1957: ''[[Piano á la Mode]]'' ([[Jubilee Records|Jubilee]])
* 1958: ''[[New Faces at Newport]]'' ([[MetroJazz Records|MetroJazz]])
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* 1969: ''[[African Cookbook]]'' ([[Polydor Records|Polydor]])
* 1969: ''[[Niles Littlebig]]'' (Polydor)
* 1972: ''[[Blue Moses (album)|Blue Moses]]'' ([[CTI Records|CTI]])
* 1973: ''[[Tanjah (album)|Tanjah]]'' (Polydor)
* 1974: ''[[Carnival (Randy Weston album)|Carnival]]'' (Freedom)
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* 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)
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* [http://underyourskindvd.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/randy-weston-interview-1-african-rhythms-autobiography/ Randy Weston video interview] at underyourskin
* [http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/20/black_history_special_jazz_legend_randy Black History Special: Jazz Legend Randy Weston on His Life and Celebration of "African Rhythms"], ''[[Democracy Now!]]'', February 20, 2012
* [https://www.arts.gov/audio/randy-weston Transcript of conversation with Randy Weston], National Endowment for the Arts, April 21, 2011.
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yaalengi-ngemi/randy-weston-a-giant-of-j_b_8683730.html "Randy Weston: A Giant of Jazz, a Giant of a Man"], ''Huffington Post'', December 2, 2015.
* Bilal Qureshi, [https://www.npr.org/2017/02/28/517770754/even-as-a-musical-ambassador-for-the-u-s-randy-weston-has-always-played-for-afri "Even As A Musical Ambassador For The U.S., Randy Weston Has Always Played For Africa"], NPR, February 28, 2017
* [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.
* Tom Reney, [http://www.nepr.net/post/randy-weston-jazz-giant-1926-2018#stream/0 "Randy Weston, Jazz Giant, 1926-2018"], ''Jazz à la Mode'', New England Public Radio, September 3, 2018.
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[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American
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[[Category:Mainstream jazz pianists]]▼
[[Category:African jazz (genre) pianists]]
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[[Category:Hard bop pianists]]▼
[[Category:American jazz pianists]]▼
[[Category:American male pianists]]▼
[[Category:American jazz composers]]
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[[Category:CTI Records artists]]▼
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[[Category:Inner City Records artists]]
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[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Motéma Music artists]]
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▲[[Category:African-American jazz pianists]]
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