Randy weston piano booker ervin tenor sax ray copeland trumpet. African cookbook is the 1973 commercial release of an album randy weston recorded in 1964 that he originally had to release on his own due to a lack of interest from any record labels. He was a completely original saxophonist he was a master. Booker then switches gear and goes into one of his uptempo solos which has nothing to do with the song but is invigorating.
Booker ervin the freedom book prestige 1964 flophouse. Randy subtitled bap beep boobee bap beepmboo bee bap. Through all the changes that have characterized pianist randy weston s career, one common thread has tied everything together. Weston s compositions have frequently been recorded by other prominent musicians, including abdullah ibrahim, houston person, booker ervin, and others.
A while back i wrote about randy westons little niles, an underrated gem of a record by an underappreciated musician, one that had a killer lineup of players including the great melba liston playing an excellent set of weston originals. I could find no general thread dedicated to randy weston, so i figured why not start a new one. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Booker ervin tenor saxophone, jaki byard piano, richard davis bass, alan dawson drums, don schlitten producer, design, photography, rudy van gelder recording engineer, david himmelstein liner notes. Randolph edward randy weston april 6, 1926 september 1, 2018 was an american jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral african connection. The song book, the blues book and the space book were all subsequently recorded in 1964 for prestige, but this seminal 1963 recording is a masterpiece of unconventional, advanced hard bop. Booker ervin the freedom book 19642014 rudy van gelder. Booker ervin the freedom book 19642014 hdtracks flac 24. Jul 25, 2003 through all the changes that have characterized pianist randy weston s career, one common thread has tied everything together. In some ways tenor saxophonist booker ervin was the archetypal jazz player for the postbop 1960s, combining the tradition of texas sax with just the hint of edgy modernism, a sort of the deltameetsmorocco sound so accessible that it is easy to miss the chances ervin took with his music. Tenor saxophonist booker ervin, a crucial element in the original band, was listed as special guest, only because he had already formed his own new group. Downbeat magazine ran a eulogy of booker ervin in their issue of october 15, 1970.
Among the members that played with randy that night were longtime musical companions cecil payne born 1922 on baritone sax and lenny mcbrowne. Coincidentally, at the bottom of the page is a tiny news report on the fact that randy weston opened a jazz club in tangiers, morocco. The album was later reissued in 1972 on the atlantic label under the title african cookbook. A native of dension, texas, he was noted as a very distinctive tenor with a hard, passionate tone and an emotional style that was still tied to chordal. During a recent listening of tenor saxophonists booker ervin and zoot sims on bookers the book cooks. In an art form plagued by early deaths of many of its masters randy weston was one of the big exceptions.
Booker ervin the freedom book 19642014 hdtracks flac. Randy westons sextet with guest star booker ervin, performed on the last of the three days, sunday night the 18th. Of course hes on some classic mingus, and the cd monterey 66 by randy weston is great though im pretty sure out of print. This type of distinction made booker ervin a true original. Westons piano style owed much to duke ellington and thelonious monk, whom he cited in a 2018 video as among pianists he counted as influences. In the context of large groups, vocalists, trios, solos, african percussion ensembles, and many other permutations, weston has always emphasized the connections that relate his music to the jazz continuum and, of course, emphasizing his own vision of such. Bovendien werkte hij met roland hanna 1959 en randy weston, waarmee hij in. Randy weston s sextet with guest star booker ervin, performed on the last of the three days, sunday night the 18th. All compositions are weston originals and feature a strong african thematic influence.
Monterey 66 is a live album by american jazz pianist randy weston recorded in 1966 at the. Booker ervin musician music database radio swiss jazz. Randy weston african cookbook 180g lp scott nangle. By 1970, booker ervin had lived for nearly three years in randy westons apartment in nyc. Randy weston homepage zep tepi thread randy weston. A talented tenor saxophonist, ervin is best known for his association with jazz great charles mingus, with whom he recorded from 1956 to 1962. Piano, producer, liner notes randy weston reissue producer, liner notes michael cuscuna tenor saxophone booker ervin tracks. Weston himself, eric dolphy, booker ervin, abbey lincoln, stanley turrentine, cannonball adderley, george. Cecil paynes feature blues for strayhorn falls below his cafe bohemia session with weston, and then they bring in african percussionists to try to give it some life, but not to my liking.
This time around we have african cookbook, which is a better known lp, but one that doesnt get quite the attention it deserves. Randy weston, booker ervin monterey 66 music skip to main content. Bethlehem bcp6048 the book booker ervin the book cooks bethlehem bcp6065 various artists golden jazz instrumentals bethlehem 4511093 booker ervin git it little jane. Mingus, randy weston and other players went out of their way to state that ervins sound had been developed independently of coltranes, and even the greatest of all jazz genealogists, writer leonard feather wrote of ervin as early as 1961, i hear little if any direct coltrane influence. Originally released on westons bakton label in 1972, and issued on cd by atlantic in 1999, this recording features randy weston on piano backed by booker ervin on tenor sax, ray copeland on trumpet, vishnu wood on bass, lenny mcbrowne on drums, and sir harold murray on percussion. He was originally a trombonist, but taught himself tenor while in the air force 19501953. Ervin obtained fame while using charles mingus on off during 19561962, keeping his very own using the volatile bassist and eric dolphy. Weston himself, eric dolphy, booker ervin, abbey lincoln, stanley turrentine, cannonball adderley, george shearing, kenny burrell, horace parlan. Sep 02, 2018 jazz giant randy weston a life in music composer and pianist randy weston has died at age 92 on september 1, 2018. Simon spillett prepared this piece on booker ervin to accompany a 2017 release on the acrobat label booker ervin.
Randy weston piano, producer, liner notes, ray copeland arranger, vishnu wood bass, lenny mcbrowne drums, donald elfman producer, naomi yodhii producer, tommy nola engineer. Booker telleferro ervin, ii 19301970 find a grave memorial. The song book, the blues book and the space book were all subsequently recorded in 1964 for prestige, but this seminal 1963 recording is. Although his career was short cancer claimed him in the summer of 1970 when he was just shy of his 40th. He also led his own quartet, worked with randy weston on a few occasions in the 60s, and spent much of 19641966 in europe. Big black 2, booker ervin, lenny mcbrowne, randy weston, ray copeland, vishnu wood. Randy weston sextet guest star booker ervin monterey 66. Randy weston sextet guest star booker ervin monterey 66 1994. Also on the team was that excellent tenor, booker ervin with vishnu wood on bass plus big black and sir harold murray on percussion while black adds vocals to congolese children in which weston plays the celeste. Cry me not is a randy weston tune, from when the pianists direction was more mainstream. His tenor had an edge that mobleys lacked and he seemed to be willing to take more chances. The only good track is booker ervins feature potrait of vivian which is played slowly but with great strength so as to be plausible. Originally released on weston s bakton label in 1972, and issued on cd by atlantic in 1999, this recording features randy weston on piano backed by booker ervin on tenor sax, ray copeland on trumpet, vishnu wood on bass, lenny mcbrowne on drums, and sir harold murray on percussion. Randy weston piano ray copeland trumpet, flugelhorn aaron bell tuba quentin jackson trombone julius watkins frenchhorn booker ervin tenor sax budd johnson soprano sax, tenor sax peck morrison bass charlie persip drums frankie dunlop percussion archie lee congas george young percussion melba liston arrangements jack lewis producer.
Get happy with the randy weston trio riverside rlp 12203 randy weston, piano. Composer and pianist randy weston has died at age 92 on september 1, 2018. Sep 02, 2018 recorded live at the monterey jazz festival, 1966. He then joined charles mingus for six years, and went onto play with the likes of eric dolphy, horace parlan, and randy weston, throughout the 1960s, before leading his own quartet. Originally released in 1972 as atlantic lp sd 1609. George tucker, and al harewood, and with randy weston.
Among the members that played with randy that night were longtime musical companions cecil payne born 1922 on baritone sax and lenny mcbrowne born 1933 on drums, both natives of brooklyn, new york. Randy weston solo, duo and trio milestone mcd470852. The good book acrobat acqcd 7121 which compiled his three earliest albums the book cooks, cookin and thats it. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Swinging blues done in 34 time, randy weston s favorite time signature. The 25minute heated finale is the percussion laden african cookbook, in which everyone contributes. Randy subtitled bapbeep boobee bap beepmboo bee bap. Ervin later recorded for blue note records and played with pianist randy weston, with whom he recorded between 1963 and 1966. The randy weston songbook features westons music performed by booker ervin, gigi gryce and donald byrd, betty carter, jon hendricks, and weston himself. His best work as a leader was on nine albums recorded for prestige 19636.
The arrangements are largely down the the trumpet player, ray copeland while weston himself was the songwriter. Tex book tenor by booker ervin cdu4pk solo duo trio buy cd music cdu4asppid music 1035471 cdu4pidall cdu4pls7 ver708cdu cdu4all cdu4saw 4302020 8. He also led his own quartet, worked with randy weston on a few occasions in the 60s, and spent much of 19641966 in europe before dying much too young. Randy weston african cookbook 1972, monarch, vinyl. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel.
A very distinctive tenor with a hard, passionate tone and an emotional style that was still tied to chordal improvisation, booker ervin was a true original. He was born in 1926, the same year as john coltrane and miles davis. Program and biographical notes by randy weston 6 p. Randy weston, piano ray copeland, trumpet booker ervin, tenor saxophone vishnu wood, bass lenny mcbrowne, drums big black, congas sir harold murray, percussion. Booker ervin the freedom book prestige prst 7295 lp. Ervin gained fame while playing with charles mingus off and on during 19561962, holding his own with the volatile bassist and eric dolphy. He also led his own quartet, worked with randy weston on a few occasions in the 60s, and spent much of 19641966 in europe before dying much too young from kidney disease. Booker ervin the freedom book prestige prst 7295 lp1964. The first of four thematically linked albums, tenor saxophonist booker ervin s the freedom book is an overlooked classic. He had phenomenal technique, a huge, searing sound and the drive of a locomotive. But all those book albums he did for pecially freedom book. After studying music in boston for two years, he m. Highlights of the session include an impressive ervin original, a lunar tune, a fine version of randy weston s cry me not, the deliberately strident als in, and another ervin composition, the moving a day to mourn, an emotionally charged ballad written after the assassination of jfk. These days booker ervin is remembered for his association with charles mingus, a fruitful period that resulted in some amazing albums, but ervin also had a great run of solo records on prestige, the best of which are his book series which began with the release of the freedom book in 1964.