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International Artists

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Randy Weston

After contributing six decades of musical direction and genius, Randy Weston remains one of the world’s foremost jazz pianists, a true innovator and visionary. Encompassing the vast rhythmic heritage of Africa, his global creations musically continue to inform and inspire.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1926, Weston was influenced by giants like Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Art Tatum and Duke Ellington, but it was Thelonious Monk who had the greatest impact. "He was the most original I ever heard," he remembers. Randy Weston’s first recording came in 1954 under the title Randy Weston plays Cole Porter - Cole Porter in a modern mood. It was in that decade that he wrote many of his best loved tunes, "Saucer Eyes," "Pam's Waltz," "Little Niles," and "Hi-Fly”. The connection between Africa and America in his music is due in large part to his father, who advised him to learn about himself, by becoming aware of his roots and ancestors.

In the 60s he went to Africa and settled in Morocco, and from there he travelled throughout the continent tasting the musical fruits of other nations. Already in the 70s, a Nigerian festival that drew artists from 60 cultures was a revelation to him. "I then realised that our music was different but the same, because if you take out the African elements of bossa nova, samba, jazz, blues, you have nothing… to me, Mother Africa is the way to survive in the new world." All his albums testify to this. The 2CD set The Spirits of Our Ancestors (1992) with the participation of his long-time collaborator Melba Liston, African musicians and guest stars like Dizzy Gillespie and Pharoah Sanders, featured new versions of several of his greatest hits, and resulted in a new wave of recognition for his work. Also worth noting are his Vulcano Blues (1993), on the origins and fate of Afro American music and Spirit! The power of music (1999), together with his African Rhythms Quintet and virtuoso Moroccan musicians. His trilogy made up of “Portrait of Monk”, “Portrait of Duke”and “Self Portrait” is a must.

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