Search - Randy Weston :: Nuit Africaine

A Mighty Showcase From Randy Weston.

Michael F. Hopkins | Buffalo, NY USA | 12/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To hear Randy Weston play is to feel the joy of song bursting

into flight, the sounds of a people walking tall, deep in

thought swaying in the sweep of a righteous word. The word

is Truth; its voice, Music.

Among the many highlights in the career of this African

American grandmaster of the acoustic piano, his solo

recordings are among the finest ever conceived. NUIT

AFRICAINE, an Enja recording from the 1970s, is a

standout performance. Striking deep with the power of

aesthetic conviction, armed with a touch which calls

for the thunder and takes it to the groove, Weston is

a dynamic Blues shaper; his instrumentality always

swinging, ever singing.



His wondrous lyricism merges the seemingly atonal

and the relentlessly tonal into a broader, beguiling,

more comprehensive song which sits still for no one.

Further denoting Weston's aesthetic kinship with Duke

Ellington, Herbie Nichols and Thelonious Monk, his supple

application of African tempo and nuance within African

American imperative stakes his claim as one of the

great innovators of the past half-century. Add to this

Weston's peerless hand as a composer of hauntingly

beautiful melodies, and you begin to wonder why

Randy Weston is not more widely acknowledged as

the major artistic power that he truly is.



All this comes together in one highly sweet presentation.

Listen to the playful scampering of "Little Niles" (for

son Azzedin), the oncoming sashay of "Jejouka", or the

earthy regality of "Blues To Senegal" and you will know

the wonder of a master at work. Healing souls as he works

the most serious of substantial sorceries, Weston is the

timeless griot spinning the tales of the world, inviting

our presence and participation in the forging of a finer

chapter.



NUIT AFRICAINE. Daybreak beckons.

The sun is smiling.







"