Randy Weston African Rhythms
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RANDY  RABAP!!BEEPBOO-BEEBAP!NDY

recorded  October 1964
Nola Penthouse Studios   New York   USA
LP    1964  Bakton BRS-1001

AFRCAN COOKBOOK 

CD    1999   Koch       8517
LP    1972   Atlantic   SD 1609


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         liner notes



Randy Weston piano (celeste on 6)
Ray Copeland
trumpet, flugelhorn  (except 7)
Booker Ervin
tenor sax  (except 7)
Vishnu Bill Wood
bass
Lennie McBrowne
drums
Big Black
percussion, vocal  (on 4 > 6)
Harold Murray
percussion  (on 4 >6)

Ray Copeland
arranger
Donald Elfman
producer
Naomi Yodhii
producer
Tommy Nola
engineer
Ogundipe Fayomi cover-painting African Cookbook

  1   Berkshire Blues  (Weston)
  2   Portrait of Vivian
  (Weston)
  3   Willie’s Tune
  (Weston)
  4   Niger Mambo
  (Bobby Benson)
  5   African Cookbook
  (Weston)
  6   Congolese Children
  (Weston)
  7   Blues for Five Reasons
  (Weston)


AFRICAN COOKBOOK


Randy Weston has long been an important and highly original pianist and composer within musicians' circles. This album, which Randy produced and released himself in limited edition, is among his finest works and has become a valuable collectors' item among those of us who have known of its existence.

1972 Michael Cuscuna
 

Africa, the cradle of civilization, is my ancestral home, the home of my spirit and my soul. Africa has always been part of me, and I knew I'd have to go there sooner or later. In 1961 I finally did and again in 1963, both times to Nigeria. Then my sextet and I toured fourteen countries in West and North Africa in 1967, and in 1968 I went back to stay; I’ve been living in Tangier, Morocco ever since.

For me, the most compelling aspect of African culture, North, South, East and West, is its music, magnificent in its diversity, with the "true drums" - African rhythms - always at heart. The music of no other civilization can rival that of Africa in the complexity and subtlety of its rhythms. All modern music, no matter what it's called - jazz, gospel, Latin, rock, bossa nova, calypso, samba, soul, the blues, even the "freedom" music of the avant-garde - is in debt to Africa rhythms

The album, especially the composition African Cookbook, is in very heavy debt; to Africa. The melody evokes North Africa and the rhythms come from all over Africa. I knew the rhythms were African, of course, but I didn't realize how universally African they were until the 1967 tour when Africans in nearly every I country we visited claimed the rhythms in Cookbook as their own, as typical of Ghana or Gabon or Upper Volta or Morocco or wherever. That's pretty heavy!

AFRICAN COOKBOOK is dedicated to my musical family, which consists of many, many people all over the world, and to my "real" family: my remarkable father and mother and my extraordinary children. The part of my musical family that has been closest to me is heard on this album, recorded in 1964. This band was made up of some beautiful men, and I'd like to say something about | each of them.

BOOKER ERVIN is no longer with us physically, but he is stilt with us spiritually. He will live in musical memory as long as his playing can be heard, with its vitality, strength, power, its tenderness and poignancy. He was a unique creative artist, greatly missed by us all. African Cookbook was named for Booker - his sound always reminds me of North Africa. I wrote Portrait Of Vivian for my mother, but it wasn't really "created" until Booker played it and left us a masterpiece of the tenor saxophone, a classic.

RAY COPELAND and I played together in our very early days in Brooklyn, many years ago, and we've played and recorded together many times since, and traveled through Africa together. Ray is a brilliant trumpeter, flugelhornist and arranger; his artistry on this album is a perfect example of his flawless technique and depth.

BIG BLACK is a master drummer, singer and lyricist - an incredible talent. His rhythms on the conga drums gave our performances the essential African beat and inspired my son Azzedin to play congas. Black was and is a major influence in bringing African rhythms to American music.

VISHNU WOOD is a strong creative musician who has developed his own distinctive style on bass and is certainly one of the outstanding bassists in music today. We've traveled and lived together in Africa too. Listen especially to Vishnu's bass line on Cookbook; it's a rhythmic trip and sets the tone for the whole outing.

LENNY MCBROWNE. another Brooklynite I've known since way back, is a beautiful, fine drummer with superb taste. He's a natural musician with a steady swinging beat and the sensitivity and responsiveness that is so necessary in a drummer.

SIR HAROLD MURRAY is an excellent conga drummer who switched to special percussion for this date, playing a wonderful instrument made of wood and donated by Big Black. He's a very important part of the rich, rhythmic background on this album.

This band (except for Sir Harold) - this family - worked together for about three years, and we made this record just before we disbanded. We all grew together in those years of sharing soul and beauty and struggling, we learned from each other and inspired each other, and part of that precious experience is here.

1972  Randy Weston

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