Randy Weston - Little Niles

[Shawn]

I find myself amazed by this album every time I hear it. Yet, it seems to be an "under the radar" title, or am I wrong on that? The writing and arrangements are damn near brilliant (IMHO) and everyone plays beautifully, Griffin and Sulieman are standouts. It's also a very cohesive album, it feels like a concept instead of just another blowing session of the time. Very Ellington-esque, but unique.

Anyway, thoughts?

[Chuck Nessa]

Bought the record around 1961. Love Randy, Griff, Melba and the rest but never could really "connect" with the record. Glad you did.

[mikeweil]

I was stunned when I first heard this as part of the Blue Note twofer LP. Melba Liston's arrangements are great, all play well - I think it's a gem and a high point in Weston's discography.

[fasstrack]

I don't know the album, but I love Randy's concept and work. Little Niles and his other tunes are very deep. My old bandmate Benny Powell and a nice, different alto player, T.K. Blue, have been in his band forever. I saw Randy with these guys a few years back with these guys and African-themed dancers. It was celebratory. Randy remains a viable force in music at around 80. He also spawned a few people who are talents in themselves, like one of my oldest NY friends, Rodney Kendrick. Rodney reveres him and presented him in concert once.

It's really miraculous that people like Randy, Barry Harris, Hank Jones, Benny, Benny Golson, Phil Woods, Moody, Dr. Billy--------on and on-------are not only still with us but playing with wisdom, artistry, and mastery that is awe-inspiring. The young players are paying attention. I hope the rest of this knuckleheaded, culture-daft society will too................

[jazzbo]

This is a great one. I owe Bill Fenohr thanks for pulling my coat-tails in this direction and starting me on an obsessive collecting of Weston. I love how Weston has evolved, he's as deep a musician now as ever, probably deeper in some ways.

[king ubu]

Yeah, very good one!

I got into Weston mainly via his great series of Universal France/Gitanes album from the late 80s and 90s (Volcano Blues, Saga, Spirits of the Ancestors, etc) and a few earlier ones (the CTI, the Dawn and the Monterey '66 album). Buying the Mosaic Select was quite a revelation! I love the two albums on disc 3, but this one is outstanding as well! And it's a pleasure to hear Griffin in such a cool setting!

[clifford_thornton]

I'll have to dig this one out.

I have this and African Cookbook and recently sold my orig of Uhuru Afrika. It has been hard for me to connect with Weston's music and I am not sure why.

[randyhersom]

Try Carnival, clifford_thronton. Billy Harper will pull you in.

[Peter Friedman]

I find Randy Weston to be a "mixed bag". Some of his recordings I like very much, but others don't do much for me. "Little Niles" is one I do like quite a bit.

[Hot Ptah]

Some people like cilantro and others cannot stand it when it is added to food. So it is with jazz artists.

I immediately liked Randy Weston's albums when I encountered them early in my jazz conversion. I have always thought he added a "good time" vibe to them to make them especially accessible. That's what I hear, anyway. I immediately connected with them and have liked all of them ever since, except for the three "Portraits" albums which he released in the 1990s. Those did not do much for me.

"Little Niles", "Uhuru Afrika", "African Cookbook", "Tanjah", "Berkshire Blues", "Carnival" and several others, are among the albums I still play quite often.

I saw Randy Weston with Richard Davis and Don Moye at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago in the spring of 1978. It is still one of the more memorable concerts I have ever seen.

[Chuck Nessa]

I saw Randy Weston with Richard Davis and Don Moye at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago in the spring of 1978. It is still one of the more memorable concerts I have ever seen.

I was there every night of the engagement (3?). The final night I shared a table with Joseph Jarman. This wonderful gig was recorded and I explored the possibility of a record but Randy was unhappy with the piano. One set was broadcast on NPR.

[Hot Ptah]

I saw Randy Weston with Richard Davis and Don Moye at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago in the spring of 1978. It is still one of the more memorable concerts I have ever seen.

I was there every night of the engagement (3?). The final night I shared a table with Joseph Jarman. This wonderful gig was recorded and I explored the possibility of a record but Randy was unhappy with the piano. One set was broadcast on NPR.

I was there on Saturday and Sunday. I taped the NPR broadcast onto a cassette tape, which I still have. I thought that the broadcast made the sound seem thinner than it was in person.

I was taking Richard Davis' jazz history class at the University of Wisconsin at the time. He mentioned it to the students several times, and urged us all to try to go to it. I rode along from Madison with his student assistant to the Saturday performance. Since his student assistant was there, Richard took us backstage between sets. This opened my eyes to the fact that going backstage is not really that exciting a thing to do. Don Moye was quite rightly not that receptive to having some fawning young people bothering him.

I remember that Richard Davis asked us backstage if we had any requests for the next set, and I said that I would like to hear "Little Niles". He said that they were planning to play it (and they did).

On Sunday afternoon, back in Madison at our dumpy student apartment, I described how great the music had been to a friend of mine. By the time I was finished with my description, we were walking to the car to drive to Chicago again. Richard Davis saw me walk into the club for the second day in a row, and he looked thunderstruck with surprise. That is when I first got to know him, more than as a student sitting in a large lecture hall.

I remember that Don Moye played with uncommon intensity during Sunday's performance. I don't think I have ever witnessed a performance by him after that, which rose to that level of energy.

Edited March 13, 2009 by Hot Ptah

[felser]

Try Carnival, clifford_thronton. Billy Harper will pull you in.

"Mystery of Love" from that one was the piece that first got me into Weston. I was already a Harper fan from his work on the 'Lee Morgan' album, especially "Capra Black", and from his Strata-East 'Capra Black' album. I like the early Weston stuff, but have always been more drawn to Weston's material from the mid-60's on, which was much more Afro-centric. I think the story is that he took a trip to Africa, which changed his conception, if I remember correctly.

Edited March 13, 2009 by felser

[Hot Ptah]

Try Carnival, clifford_thronton. Billy Harper will pull you in.

"Mystery of Love" from that one was the piece that first got me into Weston. I was already a Harper fan from his work on the 'Lee Morgan' album, especially "Capra Black", and from his Strata-East 'Capra Black' album. I like the early stuff, but have always been more drawn to his material from the mid-60's on, which was much more Afro-centric.

At the Jazz Showcase engagement in the spring of 1978, Weston, Richard Davis and Don Moye ended each set with "Mystery of Love", almost like a theme song.

[paul secor]

Little Niles has seemed to be an "okay" session to me. Had a relisten this afternoon & what hit me is that there are too few solos on it, and too many very short tracks (out of seven tracks, two are under three minutes and two are under three and a half minutes). If you have Johnny Griffin in the studio, let him play. I haven't timed it, but it sounds to me like George Joyner gets as much solo space on this record as Griff. Joyner plays well, but there's something wrong with that scenario. It could have been a better record.

[fasstrack]

I saw Randy Weston with Richard Davis and Don Moye at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago in the spring of 1978. It is still one of the more memorable concerts I have ever seen.

I was there every night of the engagement (3?). The final night I shared a table with Joseph Jarman. This wonderful gig was recorded and I explored the possibility of a record but Randy was unhappy with the piano. One set was broadcast on NPR.

I was there on Saturday and Sunday. I taped the NPR broadcast onto a cassette tape, which I still have. I thought that the broadcast made the sound seem thinner than it was in person.

I was taking Richard Davis' jazz history class at the University of Wisconsin at the time. He mentioned it to the students several times, and urged us all to try to go to it. I rode along from Madison with his student assistant to the Saturday performance. Since his student assistant was there, Richard took us backstage between sets. This opened my eyes to the fact that going backstage is not really that exciting a thing to do. Don Moye was quite rightly not that receptive to having some fawning young people bothering him.

I remember that Richard Davis asked us backstage if we had any requests for the next set, and I said that I would like to hear "Little Niles". He said that they were planning to play it (and they did).

On Sunday afternoon, back in Madison at our dumpy student apartment, I described how great the music had been to a friend of mine. By the time I was finished with my description, we were walking to the car to drive to Chicago again. Richard Davis saw me walk into the club for the second day in a row, and he looked thunderstruck with surprise. That is when I first got to know him, more than as a student sitting in a large lecture hall.

I remember that Don Moye played with uncommon intensity during Sunday's performance. I don't think I have ever witnessed a performance by him after that, which rose to that level of energy.

Amen. That's what it's about.....

[Teasing the Korean]

I like ALL of Randy's stuff from that period, with the exception of a UA album of tunes from a failed Broadway play, which I unloaded. Everything else from UA, Jubilee, and Riverside is top notch. Hard to single out a favorite.

[fasstrack]

I like ALL of Randy's stuff from that period, with the exception of a UA album of tunes from a failed Broadway play, which I unloaded. Everything else from UA, Jubilee, and Riverside is top notch. Hard to single out a favorite.

Man, that is one bitchin' avatar!. Is that Harold Sakata (Odd Job)? Has to be......

[king ubu]

Chuck, no chance in trying and convince Mr. Weston of a release of those 1978 recordings today?

[Shawn]

Little Niles has seemed to be an "okay" session to me. Had a relisten this afternoon & what hit me is that there are too few solos on it, and too many very short tracks (out of seven tracks, two are under three minutes and two are under three and a half minutes). If you have Johnny Griffin in the studio, let him play. I haven't timed it, but it sounds to me like George Joyner gets as much solo space on this record as Griff. Joyner plays well, but there's something wrong with that scenario. It could have been a better record.

In many cases songs being too short can be a hindrance with jazz records, but for some reason it doesn't bother me here. I like the tight focus of the arrangements. Sometimes you can say alot in 3 minutes if you do it well. Griff's solo on Little Susan being an excellent case in point.

[six string]

Was Little Niles reissued under another name? I thought I might have that one since I have so much by Weston but I don't seem to have it.

I've been a fan for many years. There was a time when I bought any Weston album I saw, vinly or cd. I'm glad I did as his music seems hard to find these days. I can't believe his Portrait series is OOP. If that poor album of a failed Broadway show is Destry Rides Again, I couldn't agree more. I've heard almost everything in the man's disography and it's the only one I don't like much so far.

He's an amazing player and songwriter, which when combined with Melba Liston's arrangements produces some of the best music this side of Duke Ellington. IMO of course.

Edited March 14, 2009 by six string

[Stereojack]

Was Little Niles reissued under another name? I thought I might have that one since I have so much by Weston but I don't seem to have it.

It was coupled with "Live at the Five Spot" on a Blue Note two-fer in the 1970's. Can't recall the title. A nice session, worth having, certainly, but not among my favorite Westons.

[JSngry]

Was Little Niles reissued under another name? I thought I might have that one since I have so much by Weston but I don't seem to have it.

It was coupled with "Live at the Five Spot" on a Blue Note two-fer in the 1970's. Can't recall the title.

Little Niles, wasn't it?

[mikeweil]

Yep.