Pianist and composer Randy Weston is a fascinating artist with a broad worldview, and a particularly deep interest in Africa, the Motherland. He discusses this Afrocentricity and his rich career in detail in this two-part edition of Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center. This program is a particularly sumptuous treat for the audience, as it was a magical evening at the Terrace Theatre for our concert. Part of the charm is that Weston and Dr. Taylor are contemporaries of the same instrument, and though long time friends, this was the first time they have played together! Dr. Taylor sums it up quite aptly in his introduction: "My guest is the marvelous pianist and composer, Randy Weston.

Brooklyn-born and bred, a world traveler, spirit and sage, Weston incorporates into his music elements of the world in which he travels, most succinctly from Africa. Weston and Dr. Taylor recall how they initially met in the Berkshires at the noted Music Inn summer retreats. The influence of growing up in Brooklyn was a powerful force in Weston's development, and he talks not only about the influence of the global cultural musics of Brooklyn, but also of the many great musicians who also grew up there, including drummer Max Roach. Narrowing the focus to Weston's pianistic pursuits, Randy names his five piano influences: Count Basie, Nat Cole, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk.

Monk was perhaps the most indelible influence of all on young Weston, and he tells the audience about his initial encounter with his idol when Monk was on the bandstand with tenor sax great Coleman Hawkins. He laughs about how his initial impression was: "....Who's that guy on the piano? I can play more piano than that...." Ellington's influence came after Monk, providing a fitting introduction to Weston and Dr. Taylor's version of "Caravan," a familiar Ellington band standard.

Dr. Taylor asks Weston about his most memorable musical experience. Weston beguiles the audience with stories of particularly indelible encounters with Billie Holiday and Mahalia Jackson, recalling that "....after [Mahalia] got through with us, we had to go to bed." Tunes for part one of the show include such Weston favorites as "Hi Fly", and "Berkshire Blues." One of the keys to understanding Weston's compositions is his longtime arranger, Melba Liston, a working relationship he relates to Dr. Taylor in loving detail. Throughout the program Weston proves himself a charming storyteller, a skill he deftly takes to the piano as Dr. Taylor coaxes him into performing a solo rendition of his original "The Healers."

"The Healers" is a distinct part of Randy Weston's study of African music, and he reminisces about his first trip to Africa, interestingly on a state department tour at the recommendation of Dr. Taylor. Later, chagrined at the dawn of the rock age in the 1960s and '70s, when jazz musicians were "plugging in" their instruments, Weston returned to Africa and settled in Morocco. While in North Africa he opened a jazz club and immersed himself in the traditional music of the land. This music clearly had a profound effect on him, which he describes in reverent detail. An audience member questions Weston on what he learned about the roots of the blues in Africa. Weston responds by talking about the spiritual nature of music and how music is used to celebrate the spirit on the continent. A closing question asks Weston about the future of jazz, and he begins his response by saying emphatically that the "History of jazz music should be in every school."