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1 4 /\\mnirTB\\%u00aba r n II l U l l l ^ l U V V I l IBY ELAIN E COHENRandy Weston is one of the great modernjazz improvisers, a direct heir to the legacyof Duke, Bird, Trane and Monk. Flying infrom California especially for a November 1Brooklyn engagement, Brooklyn-bornWeston launched what organizer DanLaidley and Reverend Paul Smith of theFirst Presbyterian Church on Henry Streethope to be an ongoing series of jazz concerts. Four hundred people in the audienceapplauded as Weston was honored by a citation from borough president Howard Goldenfor his contribution and service to theBrooklyn community, particularly his workwith school children.%u201cBrooklyn is always home,%u201d said Weston,who has lived in Africa for several years,%u201cI%u2019ve tried to get away but I always com eback. Brooklyn is where I learned m y craft.In the 1940%u2019s and 1950%u2019s everyone lived inBrooklyn %u2014 Miles, Monk, M ax Roach, Bird,Herbie Nichols. Even today, people likeCecil Taylor and Lester Bowie are livinghere.%u201d Weston%u2019s father, who inculcated Randy with the importance of his Africanheritage, ran a diner in Brooklyn whereMax Roach and Duke Jordan gathered toeat and talk. Through them, Weston%u2019smusical circles expanded and his professional career playing piano in jazz andrhythm-and-blues groups began in 1949.Although Weston plays New York frequently with small groups and appeared afew years ago at the Brooklyn Academy ofMusic with an all-star big band, is wellknown internationally as a solo artist withseveral solo albums to his credit, this washis first New York City solo piano concert.He entered the beautiful 19th centurychurch dramatically, simply by the force ofhis 6-foot 5-inch presence.The soft-spoken, articulate pianistdominated die grand piano and dedicatedhis opening tunes %u201cto the ancestors %u2014 FatsWaller, Duke Ellington and Thelonius0 V% Wlk, M 41 c p p c i c u D m /u yA %u00bbrf A -Cm*n i m i a m i I L a i I I I I I I U C I I L C 9R a n d y W e s to n (J.J. P u s s ia u P h o to )Monk.%u201d A dazzling medley of %u201cHoneysuckleRose,%u201d %u201cJitterbug Waltz,%u201d %u201c Caravan,%u201d %u201cCJa m Blues,%u201d %u201cRuby, My D ear%u201d and %u201c WellYou Needn%u2019t %u201d demonstrated his left handprowess, both in his delightful ability tostride and his stark use of booming basschords against delicately arpeggiated runs.The familiar tunes took on new dimensions,Monk%u2019s especially, the quirky phrasingsmoothly connected by Weston with tenderly pronounced clusters of notes. There weresurprise insertions, rumblings and swellingsof sound which dwindled into single notelines of bell-like clarity before re-assertingsheer rhythmic and melodic power.The rest of the program was devoted toRandy Weston%u2019s originals. Some, like %u201cHiFly%u201d on which he played echoing variations,have become classics in the jazz repertory.Lush, romantic %u201c P am %u2019s Waltz%u201d slid into astream of consciousness improvisation on%u201cLittle Niles,%u201d both tunes written for hischildren.Even more provocative were the colors ofhis African inspired compositions. Westonhas visited and played with the musiciansof 18 African countries and is influenced aswell by the music of Brazil and the Caribbean. %u201cCongolese Children%u2019s Song,%u201d aplayful high-pitched repitition, was punctuated by Randy%u2019s singsong moans, untilfuller chords chased the simple phrase upand down the registers with an oddly pleasing dissonance. %u201cThe Healers%u201d created apeaceful sombre mood, building to a profound meditation. An abstract palate ofdark chords, a torrent of scuttling cloudssuggesting imminent thunderstorms on anopen veldt, the expansiveness of the Africansky, could all be imagined in %u201c AfricanSunrise.%u201d%u201c Blue Moses,%u201d the evening%u2019s final piece,was inspired by a ceremony held in Morocco by traditional musicians who believe thatBrooklyn is always home. I'vetried to get away, but I alwayscome back. Brooklyn is where Ilearned my craft.illness is due to being out of tune withnature. The object of the ceremony is tofind the person%u2019s note and color to heal him,and Weston described the ceremony as%u201chearing blues, gospel, spirituals and calypso simultaneously.%u201d Randy Weston proceeded to gently shake notes out of thekeyboard, dove into a powerful bass riff,managing to also evoke the single notemelodies of a kalimba or African thumbpiano. Still searching for that one note, thewarm lip of the blues curled up from thelower octaves and then the piece dancedunder a blazing rotunda of sound, to end swinging in the piano%u2019s highest tinkling noteswhere melded chords trickled and crasheddown again like shooting stars.Weston will return next month to Tangierswhere he will appear as both actor andmusician in films directed by French andMoroccan filmmakers, as well as being thesubject of a documentary on his life andmusic in which he will perform with traditional African musicians. 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