Search - Randy Weston :: Blue Moses

Great Music Hamstrung By Corporate Whim.

Michael F. Hopkins | Buffalo, NY USA | 09/01/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The music of pianist Randy Weston, particularly his

collaborations with trombonist/arranger Melba Liston,

rank among the finest achievements in all Music. Yet

this initial release of Weston's timeless anthem BLUE

MOSES, originally issued through the CTI label in the

1970s, is a major disappointment.

The album has great players, among them trumpeter

Freddie Hubbard, and the most authentically Jazz-based

work ever achieved by Grover Washington Jr. on record.

Weston's compositions here are among the finest he

has ever written. Liston's arrangements are clearly

top of the line.

Unfortunately, producer Creed Taylor -or some other

trend-friendly corporate at CTI- apparently forced

Weston to play the entire date on electric piano. An

acoustic grandmaster with deep roots in Duke Ellington

and Thelonious Monk, Weston has always been ill at

ease with utilizing an electronic sound.



This album proves the validity of Weston's apprehension.

His larger-than-life touch, ruminating upon the Blues,

vibrantly nimble in striking the Call of Africa and the

mandates of African American legacy, just does not

communicate on a plugged-in keyboard.

Because of this, the entire album became just another

Pop management exercise in holding back some A-1 Jazz

which -as was the case with most product from the CTI

label- never happened. This session was successful

only for curiosity-happy thrill-seekers wanting their

tastes tickled... rather than fruitfully engaged.



Those interested in hearing how BLUE MOSES is supposed

to sound are advised to pick up THE HEALERS, the classic

duets of Weston and pistol-packing tenor champion David

Murray, or hear Weston's epic 2-CD hook-up with Liston,

Dizzy Gillespie and other friends, THE SPIRITS OF OUR

ANCESTORS. Check a great concert performance of the

roots masterwork on the DVD from Image Enetertainment,

RANDY WESTON: LIVE IN ST. LUCIA.



If your taste for Jazz runs only to the day-glo dilutions

of fusion, CTI cocktail wanderings, or the current slander

known as "smooth jazz", this might be for you.

If you love Jazz in its fullness, and particularly if you

love the work of Randy Weston and Melba Liston,

approach this album with a grain of salt.



Make that a pillar.

"

Great album

Paul Mark Provencher | 11/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some good time blowin by Freddie Hubbard with a swinging Billy Cobham. Grover gets in some nice licks and the charts are very exciting."

All-Star Line-Up, Incredible Ambiance

Paul Mark Provencher | Morgantown, WV USA | 07/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this LP for a very superficial reason: The album art by Pete Turner was too good to pass up! This LP jacket must be seen to be believed! I wonder if anyone has the photo print that Pete Turner offered via mail?



Notwithstanding my ignorant reason for purchase, the album became a personal treasure with my first listen. It's hard to pass up Hubert Laws, Grover Washington, Ron Carter, and Airto Moreira, for starters. The rest of the line up is just as incredible.



The music (that's the point right?) is accessible jazz that in my opinion doesn't dive too deep toward the "smooth jazz" blight that became prevalent much later. It's complex and at times eclectic, but rewards the listener after a few "training runs" with some wonderful emotions that call you back again and again.



I can really get the sense of walking at night in Medina; the rhythyms of the drums really do evoke Morroco in a way that Plant & Page also manage a few decades later with their unplugged foray into World Music. But I digress...



This is the kind of album that sets a nice mood for that evening when you want to sit back and let the day run off your shoulders. Or that long drive at night...



It's what it is - Weston may be more familiar and "pure" with an acoustic piano, but I still think there is a place for this album in the real jazz lover's collection."