The Spirits of Our Ancestors | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1992 | |||
Recorded | 1991 | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Label | Verve | |||
Randy Weston chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Spirits of Our Ancestors is an album by pianist Randy Weston that was recorded in 1991 and issued on the Verve label. While all of the compositions (with the exception of one traditional Moroccan song) were composed by Weston himself, the music on the album is more specifically a collaborative arranging effort between Weston and arranger Melba Liston. The music on Spirits is played by an all-star cast of musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Pharoah Sanders, Dewey Redman, Idris Muhammad, and Idrees Sulieman.
Spirits was originally intended to be a grand culmination of Weston's experience living in and absorbing the music of Morocco. The album was to be recorded with the local musicians he had been exposed to on location in Morocco; however, due to the onset of the Gulf War around the time of recording, they decided to relocate to New York City. This change of plans did not affect the authenticity of the music. The main focus of the album, as stated in the liner notes, is to "pay homage to our musical predecessors" and to "celebrate the universal musical language that transcends race, color, and nationality." [2]
Idrees Sulieman was an American bop and hard bop trumpeter.
Eugene Rhynie, known professionally as T. K. Blue, is an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer and educator from New York City. His parents were Jamaican and Trinidadian, and he has used their Afro-Caribbean musical styles in his own work. He has worked with, among others, Don Cherry, Jayne Cortez, the South African pianist Dollar Brand, and Randy Weston, for whom he was musical director.
Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection.
Melba Doretta Liston was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. Other than those playing in all-female bands, she was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, but as her career progressed she became better known as an arranger, particularly in partnership with pianist Randy Weston. Other major artists with whom she worked include Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, and Count Basie.
Jamil Nasser and also credited on some of Ahmad Jamal's recordings as Jamil Sulieman, was an American jazz musician. He played double bass, electric bass, and tuba.
Hub Cap is an album by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and was released on the Blue Note label in 1961 as BLP 4073 and BST 84073. It features performances by Hubbard, Julian Priester, Jimmy Heath, Cedar Walton, Larry Ridley and Philly Joe Jones.
A Tribute to Cannonball is a studio album by jazz pianist Bud Powell and tenor saxophonist Don Byas, released on Columbia in March 1979, featuring a session recorded at the Studio Charlot in Paris on 15 December 1961, with Pierre Michelot on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums, and trumpeter Idrees Sulieman guesting on four tracks. The session was produced by Cannonball Adderley, who would also produce Powell's follow-up A Portrait of Thelonious recorded two days later.
Dizzy Gillespie at Newport is a 1957 live album by Dizzy Gillespie, featuring his big band, recorded at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival.
Jewels of Thought is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was recorded at Plaza Sound Studios in New York City on October 20, 1969, and was released on Impulse! Records in the same year. The 1998 reissue merged "Sun In Aquarius" into one 27-minute-long track.
Birks' Works is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie recorded in 1957 and released on the Verve label. The original album featured 10 tracks and was reissued as Birks Works: The Verve Big Band Sessions, a 2 CD compilation featuring unreleased tracks, alternate takes and tracks from Gillespie's previous 1956 albums Dizzy in Greece and World Statesman.
Dizzy in Greece is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, recorded in 1956 and 1957 and released on the Verve label. The album was reissued as part of the 2CD compilation Birks Works: The Verve Big Band Sessions.
Little Niles is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1958 and first released on the United Artists label. 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."
Live at the Five Spot is a live album by jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1959 at the Five Spot Café and originally released on the United Artists label.
Uhuru Afrika is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Roulette label. The album features lyrics and liner notes by the poet Langston Hughes and was banned in South Africa in 1964, at the same time as was Lena Horne's Here's Lena Now!, with copies of the albums being seized in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Highlife is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1963 and originally released on the Colpix label. Weston had traveled to Africa for the first time in 1961 for a series of concerts in Lagos, Nigeria, sponsored by the American Society of African Culture, and the album is inspired by the music of the African continent, in particular the highlife genre of West Africa.
Tanjah is a studio album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in May 1973 in New York City and originally released on the Polydor label.
Groovin' is an album by the trumpeter Idrees Sulieman recorded in 1985 and released on the SteepleChase label.
Khepera is an album by the American pianist Randy Weston, released in 1998. The album was in part an exploration of the connection between African and Chinese cultures. It is dedicated to Cheikh Anta Diop. Khepera is Egyptian for transformation.
Volcano Blues is an album by pianist Randy Weston and Melba Liston, who arranged and conducted most of the music. It was recorded on February 5 and 6, 1993, at BMG Studios in New York City, and was released later that year by Antilles Records, Verve Records and Gitanes Jazz Productions. On the album, Weston and Liston are joined by saxophonists Talib Kibwe, Teddy Edwards, and Hamiet Bluiett, trumpeter Wallace Roney, trombonist Benny Powell, guitarist Ted Dunbar, double bassist Jamil Nasser, drummer Charlie Persip, and percussionists Obo Addy and Neil Clarke. Guitarist and vocalist Johnny Copeland also appears on two tracks.