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African Cookbook
Randy Weston
African Cookbook
Genres: Jazz, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (7) - Disc #1

Featuring the band and material that played the group's send-off at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1966 (resulting in the long-overdue issue of the Monterey '66 CD in 1993), this Randy Weston band held solid ground in the s...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Randy Weston
Title: African Cookbook
Members Wishing: 3
Total Copies: 0
Label: Koch Records
Release Date: 3/23/1999
Genres: Jazz, Pop
Styles: Modern Postbebop, Bebop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 090431675922, 099923851721, 0090431675922, 603497052660, 009043167592

Synopsis

Amazon.com
Featuring the band and material that played the group's send-off at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1966 (resulting in the long-overdue issue of the Monterey '66 CD in 1993), this Randy Weston band held solid ground in the space between a small ensemble and a big band. African Cookbook gets at least some of its name--and its spiritedness--from tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin, who takes the album's best solos in his Texas-tenor, blues-soaked style. The band plays at a slow simmer for much of the set, recorded in 1964 but unreleased until 1972, gliding into Weston's open architecture and effusive, Pan-African melodies. There's generous percussion here, much of it coming from the rarely heard Lennie McBrowne (who, by the way, stirs it up brilliantly on Ervin's Booker and Brass), with the frequent addition of Big Black and Sir Harold Murray on small and handheld percussion. Unlike hosts of his contemporaries, Weston survived this period and created awesome works--not the least of which is 1998's Khepera--but it's always great to hear material, like this, that barely saw light even when it was recorded. --Andrew Bartlett
 

CD Reviews

Synthesis of two styles coming together
COMPUTERJAZZMAN | Cliffside Park, New Jersey United States | 09/14/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Randy Weston, has basically had two different phases of his musical career: his earlier work, which is more hard bop, bluesy kind of jazz, and his later work which is caharcterized by his emphasis on African beats, rhythms and melodies. The music recorded on this CD came at a time (1964) when he was basically transitioning from one style to the other one, and as a result, there are elements of both here but I would say there is more emphasis on the former than the latter. His forthcoming output would be a lot more deeply steeped in African music. And on this CD, there is great sax playing by Booker Ervin, who was a mainstay in Weston's band at that time (The much later album Khepara, features another great sax player, Pharoah Sanders, and it is interesting to note the contrast in their styles)."