Search - Randy Weston :: Mosaic Select

Treasures from Randy Weston

Michael F. Hopkins | Buffalo, NY USA | 09/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Renowned as the label for serious Jazz listeners, Mosaic

Records has gathered a fresh clientele with their new

Mosaic Select series. Collecting the very best of a given

artist's run, the emphasis of Mosaic Select is decidedly

a matter of excellence, not blind completism.

Among the finest compilations from the newborn label, we

finally have some of Randy Weston's most legendary work

made available again in a solid 3-CD set. From trio and

quartet performances to some exciting ensemble work

featuring the pianist's first work with arranger/

trombonist Melba Liston, the collection is a motherlode

of Jazz reaching deep into Blues depth and African

pulse as few have done before or since.

Among the treasures in this 1957-63 set, we have

a live date featuring tenor great Coleman Hawkins,

drummaster Roy Haynes, and actor Brock Peters

unleashing his rich baritone voice on the haunting

missive "Where".

Peters can also be heard on "African Lady", part

of the great orchestral suite UHURU AFRIKA penned

by Weston and poet supreme Langston Hughes (whose

liner notes grace a good deal of the booklet

included with this set).



Defintive recordings of many Weston classics can

be heard here, from waltzes such as "Earth Birth"

and "Little Niles" to sheer epics of intense

balladry such as "Cry Me Not", and head-tipping

strolls such as "Babe's Blues". The pianist's

resonant touch and call is resoundingly

present here, and the various settings

of this collection showcase the gentle

giant's consummate mastery beyond any

doubt. Listen to "In Memory Of", "Zulu",

or the "Mystery of Love", and hear a

probable influence upon the South

African music of the 1950s and

1960s.

Weston's place as a music scientist

merging the flow of African rhythm

and African American nuance is on

a par with Duke Ellington and

Abdullah Ibrahim. It is a deep

genius which -over the decades-

has been barely recognized. Time

for a change.



Boasting a Who's Who of Jazz mastery

and percussion legendry across the

decades, the RANDY WESTON: MOSAIC

SELECT collection is a feast for

the ears, mind, and soul.



Give it a good home.

Make it yours."