Randy Weston © Andrea Canter

NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston has spent most of his career combining the rich music of the African continent with the African-American tradition of jazz, mixing rhythms and melodies into a hybrid musical stew. . A living jazz legend, Weston was most recently honored with the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame - Living Legend Award, 2009. Randy Weston's African Rhythms will return to Dizzy's where they recorded Storyteller in 2010 [click here for a Jazz Police review] on Wednesday, August 5th through Sunday, August 5th. The ensemble includes Randy Weston on piano, Alex Blake on bass; Neil Clarke on percussion, TK Blue on alto saxophone and flute, and Lewis Nash on drums. IF you can't make it to Dizzy's. the August 2nd performance will be braodcast live on jalc.org/live at 9:30pm EST.

Randy Weston received his earliest training from private teachers in a household that nurtured his budding musicianship. Growing up in Brooklyn, Weston was influenced by such peers as saxophonist Cecil Payne and trumpeter Ray Copeland as well as the steady influx of great jazz musicians who frequented Brooklyn clubs and jam sessions on a regular basis. Such musicians as Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington would have a lasting influence on Weston's music, both in terms of his piano playing and composition.

After a 1945 stint in the Army, Weston began playing piano with such rhythm and blues bands as Bull Moose Jackson and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. At the Music Inn educational retreat in Lenox, Massachusetts, in 1954, he took work as a cook during the summer, while playing the piano at night. The head of Riverside Records heard him and signed Weston to do a record of Cole Porter standards.

Alex Blake © Andrea Canter

Weston's interest in the African continent was sparked at an early age, and he lectured and performed in Africa in the early 1960s. He toured 14 African countries with his ensemble in 1967 on a State Department tour, eventually settling in Rabat, Morocco. He later moved to Tangier, opening the African Rhythms Club in 1969. It was in Morocco that Weston first forged unique collaborations with Berber and Gnawan musicians, infusing his jazz with African music and rhythms.

Since returning to the U.S. in 1972, he has lived in Brooklyn, traveling extensively overseas with bands that generally include trombonist Benny Powell and longtime musical director, saxophonist Talib Kibwe (aka T.K. Blue). In recent years, a number of Weston's U.S. concert appearances have been true events, including 1998 and 1999 Brooklyn and Kennedy Center collaborations with the Master Musicians of Gnawa, and a triumphant 1998 recreation of his masterwork suite "Uhuru Africa" in Brooklyn. Many of Weston's compositions, such as "Hi Fly" and "Berkshire Blues," have become jazz standards.

Lewis Nash © Andrea Canter

Randy Weston's bio was adapted from the NEA Jazz Masters profile at www.arts.gov/national/jazz/index.html

Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola is located at Frederick P. Rose Hall, the Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street on the 5th Floor. For reservations call 212-258-9595/9795 or visit www.jalc.org/dccc. Nightly sets at 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. with an additional 11:30pm set on Fridays and Saturdays.  Seating is available on a first-come first-served basis either at tables or at the bar.

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