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ARTIST
TITLE
Montreux Jazz Festival 1985
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
IOR 771662CD IOR 771662CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
5/15/2026

"One of three releases marking the 100th birthday of Randy Weston. It features previously unreleased live material. Randy Weston is known to the public thru the lens of the small ensemble of the African Rhythm group, recognition that is very well deserved and his signature around the world. Randy Weston is not only in direct lineage of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, he was also the real integrator of African music into the Jazz World. Brooklyn, a cradle of jazz history and home to countless musical legends like Max Roach, Duke Jordan, and Cecil Payne, celebrated one of its finest with a weeklong tribute at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Later that year, Randy brought his music to Europe with a smaller, but equally remarkable, ensemble. The tour included stops at Jazz à Vienne in France, where founder Jean-Pierre Boutelier had the visionary idea to pair Randy's compositions with the Grenoble Symphony Orchestra. From there Weston traveled to the Montreux Jazz Festival where this recording was made. The concert opened with Randy's iconic composition 'African Cookbook,' requested by Claude Nobs, the founder and director of Montreux Jazz Festival. It was followed by 'Hi-Fly,' Randy's signature piece, driven by rhythm and energy. His mastery as a composer shines through in the poignant 'Blues for Strayhorn' and the deeply personal 'Portrait of Frank Edward Weston,' a tribute to his father and one of his great inspirations. 'African Sunrise' -- also presented that year at the Kool Jazz Festival in Chicago with Machito's orchestra featuring Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Griffin, Art Blakey, and Richard Davis (a recording of that event exists!) -- appears here in an arrangement by Melba Liston, showcasing her genius once again."