Little Niles

Last updated
Little Niles
Little Niles.jpg
Studio album by
Randy Weston
Released1959
RecordedOctober 1958
StudioRCA Studios, New York City
Genre Jazz
Label United Artists
UAL 4011
Producer Jack Lewis
Randy Weston chronology
New Faces at Newport
(1958)		Little Niles
(1959)		 Destry Rides Again
(1959)

Little Niles is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1958 and first released on the United Artists label. [1] The album was later released as part of a Blue Note compilation under the same title. All the tracks are Weston originals and, as indicated in the LP's liner notes by Langston Hughes, the album was inspired by Weston's children Niles and Pamela, who are directly referenced in "Little Niles" and "Pam's Waltz" and feature in the cover photograph. As Hughes notes of the compositions, "All in three-quarter time, these charming little vignettes escape rigidity of beat by a fluid flow of counter-rhythms and melodies, one against another, that brings continuous delight." [2]

Randy Weston American jazz pianist

Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection.

United Artists Records American record label

United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.

Blue Note Records American record label

Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label that is owned by Universal Music Group and operated with Decca Records. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derives its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small group swing, from 1947 the label began to switch its attention to modern jazz. Although the original company did not record many of the pioneers of bebop, significant exceptions are Thelonious Monk, Fats Navarro, and Bud Powell.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]

Allmusic awarded the album 4½ stars, with the review by Scott Yanow stating: "Overall the music is advanced bop with a strong nod toward African music. Well worth searching for". [3]

Scott Yanow is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.

Track listing

All compositions by Randy Weston

  1. "Earth Birth" - 2:52
  2. "Little Susan" - 3:24
  3. "Nice Ice" - 2:55
  4. "Little Niles" - 6:00
  5. "Pam's Waltz" - 3:15
  6. "Babe's Blues" - 6:58
  7. "Let's Climb a Hill" - 5:53

Personnel

Piano musical instrument

The piano is an acoustic, stringed musical instrument invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700, in which the strings are struck by hammers. It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings.

Ray Copeland was an American jazz trumpet player and teacher.

Idrees Sulieman American musician

Idrees Sulieman was a bop and hard bop trumpeter.

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References

  1. ↑ Randy Weston discography accessed August 13, 2012
  2. ↑ "Roots Music: Randy Weston - 'Little Niles'", The Jazz Record.
  3. 1 2 Yanow, S. Allmusic Review, accessed August 13, 2012.
  4. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 206. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
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