Randy Weston Select

[Clunky]

Still trying to absorb this one.

Interestingly the sessions from HIGHLIFE/UHURU AFRIKA which I hadn't previously got into really seem to be growing on me.

Perhaps it's the better sound or perhaps I hadn't listened closely enough to the 80s CD version of these sessions.

Edited July 22, 2003 by Clunky

[mgraham333]

I love the first 2 discs and like most of the 3rd...

however, there is some percussion playing on the 3rd disc that sounds like someone is shaking a big bag of silverware.... get's on my nerves every time and mars what otherwise would be a beautiful song.

[mikeweil]

Hawkins seems like a good fit for Weston on FIVE SPOT--did they ever record together elsewhere?

No! There is one more track reputedly from the Five Spot sessions on a large Coleman Hawkins LP box set issued in Italy, but Cuscuna had his doubts about this or it would have been included.

[Chuck Nessa]

Just started playing this set yesterday - lets you know how far I am behind in my listening - and am very pleased with the transfers. Little Niles sounds much better than my old mono original and no Jubilee lp ever sounded as good as the transfer for Piano-A-La-Mode. The unissued session is a worthy addition, indeed! I have not done an a/b comparo on the third disc but it sounds fine. Highlife has always been my favorite large ensemble Weston. Something about Budd's soprano in this context is very appealing. This lp inspired me to put together a Weston/Griffin/Blakey/Gillespie night at the Chicago Jazz Fest. Naturally I hired Melba as arranger and made sure Budd Johnson was there.

One small niggle - in the photos from the Highlife session Budd Johnson is correctly identified on page 13, but the guy identified as Budd on page is someone else. I am 99% sure that's Butter Jackson.

Edited August 6, 2003 by Chuck Nessa

[J.A.W.]

Just started playing this set yesterday - lets you know how far I am behind in my listening - and am very pleased with the transfers. Little Niles sounds much better than my old mono original and no Jubilee lp ever sounded as good as the transfer for Piano-A-La-Mode. The unissued session is a worthy addition, indeed! I have not done an a/b comparo on the third disc but it sounds fine.

Malcolm Addey did another very fine job with this great set

[John L]

I just got mine a few days ago. It's great to have all of this stuff finally on CD!

Randy Weston is a living legend.

Edited August 6, 2003 by John L

[Chuck Nessa]

Check out Randy's tune Gingerbread. I was working away while the disc was playing and this track made me stop - I thought it was an unknown (to me) Herbie Nichols recording.

[wesbed]

I received my Randy Weston from Mosaic.

My first impression, listening to the first disk, was, “This is not a Blue Note recording.” And, it ain’t.

Weston reminds me of a mixture of Randy Weston and Thelonious Monk. You can hear Monk playing in the sub-conscious of Weston as Weston plays his own compositions. Memories of Monk are all over the place in Weston’s style.

I’ve listened to the first two disks. I get a sense of ‘jazz’ at certain times and a sense of ‘classical/new age’ at other times. On certain solo piano pieces Weston was way ahead of his time. Almost like he could have recorded the songs in the 1980s rather than the 1950s. Weston approaches the sound/style of 1980s new age piano, then quickly backs away and shows his new age tendencies as only a teaser.

The feeling on the Little Niles set, to me, is more ‘classically’ based and less ‘groove’ based. Lots of good playing and good writing but not so much of the ‘groove’ that is incorporated into much of 1950s Blue Note jazz sessions. I wonder if Mosaic is aware of the type-o on the back of the Select box? For session ‘A’ the title should read ‘Little Niles.’ It says ‘Little Miles’ instead.

I get a slight hint, though not exactly, of Charlie Rouse playing with Monk when I listen to Cecil Payne playing alongside Randy Weston.

Looking past the music, my favorite part of this set is the incredible remastering job done by Malcolm Addey. This is one of the best remastering efforts I’ve experienced. I mean, these recordings were created between 1957 and 1963. The quality of the sound, even the live Coleman Hawkins set, is better than some sets from the 1990s. What’s with Addey? How in the hell does he do it? The sound of every instrument is nothing less than spectacular. The bass sounds like a bass, not too loud and not too distant. The drums sound deep and full.

From Randy Weston I expected more music done in the style of Blue Note. However, Randy Weston is his own man and plays his stuff his way. This set is not what I expected and I can’t say I enjoyed the first disk on the first spin. Upon subsequent listening, Weston’s playing is, somehow, hypnotic, and he gets under your skin, whether you like it or not.

Edited November 11, 2003 by wesbed

[DrJ]

Well, interesting observations for sure. I'd be curious to know why you expected more of a Blue Note sound from Weston - from everything I've heard and know of the man, that would not seem a likely pre-impression, Weston was rather outside the BN mold of the era (most obviously telling is that he never led a date for that label).

wesbed - Did your advance impression stem from his tunes being covered by BN artists (e.g. Gene Harris and the Three Sounds, Horace Parlan, etc)?

[wesbed]

wesbed - Did your advance impression stem from his tunes being covered by BN artists (e.g. Gene Harris and the Three Sounds, Horace Parlan, etc)?

Right or wrong, I tend to view all jazz of the 1950s/1960s era through Blue Note colored glasses.

Randy Weston is mentioned in the liner notes to Freddie Hubbard's 'Hub Cap' session. Soulstation1 showed me his copy of a coffee table book of Blue Note photographs. The book contained a photograph of Weston. In addition, I know Mosaic is closely related to Blue Note through Michael Cuscuna.

I knew nearly nothing about Randy Weston and purchased the set by placing my trust in Mosaic Records. Also, I desired to have my own copy of the 'complete' Select lineup.

I assumed (I know, not smart!) Weston would follow the standard fare of Blue Note. To my wonder, he did not. I'm surprised Weston did not have more of a popular following, as in the fashion of Coltrane or Monk, due to his own unique, complex, and quirky style.

Edited November 11, 2003 by wesbed

[Parkertown]

Wesbed,

I have this box, and agree about the sound quality. Fantastic! And you're right about it not sounding like a BN release.

sidenote: I sure hope you got the Chico Hamilton set before it went OOP. Now that's some incredibly good sounding work from Mr. Addey. Mono that sounds like 3-D! LOVE this set!

[DrJ]

I understand better now wesbed, thanks for clarifying (not that you have to explain to me, of course!).

Addey is the man. His work on the recent Basie Roulette reissue CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD and on the recent Andrew Hill Conn PASSING SHIPS is simply unbelievable. Another great Addey Mosaic job is the Ellington Reprise recordings box.

I don't know how he does it but I wish Cuscuna would hire him to do it a LOT more often.

Edited November 11, 2003 by DrJ

[wesbed]

This is quite an interesting set, indeed. Upon my first listen all the way through, I didn’t think much of the third disk containing the ‘African’ music. It was so… un-Blue-Note. I’m not as much into an orchestrated big-band sound as I am into a small-band quartet or quintet type of sound.

Upon further listening, however, the ‘African’ music has become more and more acceptable to my ears. Weston finds a way to blend familiar jazz instruments and players into a mix of recognized instruments in the foreground supported by African rhythms in the background. It kind of gets under your skin upon more than one listening.

This music had to be way ahead of its time, in its time. I mean, it is jazz and world music combined. It was world music at a time when the term ‘world music’ most probably didn’t yet exist. With the combination of the jazz orchestrations in the foreground and the African instruments filling the background, I’m sometimes reminded of an acoustic version of the ‘wall of sound’ style displayed by Miles Davis on the Bitch’s Brew sessions.

Again, I want to thank Mosaic for opening my mind & ears to a style of music I’d never have experienced/discovered otherwise. And, again, thanks to Malcolm Addey for a superb remastering effort.

Edited November 19, 2003 by wesbed

[EKE BBB]

Just ordered it! I will post my impressions (I´m a almost a newbie regarding Randy Weston, I must recognize)

[bluesoul]

There is currently a copy of this set on eBay with a "Buy It Now" price of $39.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mosaic-Select-Randy-Weston-by-Randy-Weston-CD-2006-3-Discs-Mosaic-Select-/321822177072?hash=item4aee18b730

[mjzee]

There is currently a copy of this set on eBay with a "Buy It Now" price of $39.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mosaic-Select-Randy-Weston-by-Randy-Weston-CD-2006-3-Discs-Mosaic-Select-/321822177072?hash=item4aee18b730

He also has a Grachan Moncur Select for $49.

[AaronG]

Thanks for the heads up.  I just grabbed the Weston.  It's a big catch for me as I just saw him in San Antonio recently and snatched up his Riverside recordings (actual CDs, not CD-Rs!).  Been wanting this set since it disappeared prematurely from the Mosaic website.

[bluesoul]

Thanks for the heads up.  I just grabbed the Weston.  It's a big catch for me as I just saw him in San Antonio recently and snatched up his Riverside recordings (actual CDs, not CD-Rs!).  Been wanting this set since it disappeared prematurely from the Mosaic website.

Cool, glad someone on the board got it.  I picked up a copy a year or so ago for quite a bit more than that and felt lucky.  Great music.

There is currently a copy of this set on eBay with a "Buy It Now" price of $39.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mosaic-Select-Randy-Weston-by-Randy-Weston-CD-2006-3-Discs-Mosaic-Select-/321822177072?hash=item4aee18b730

He also has a Grachan Moncur Select for $49.

Still available!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mosaic-Select-Grachan-Moncur-III-new-sealed-3-cd-/321822155701?hash=item4aee1863b5