Blue Moses

Artist: Randy Weston
Label: King Japan
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 4988003249274
ASIN: B000058A64

Release Date: 2006-06-22

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Listmania:

Exquisite Sounds: Jazz

Tracks:

Ifrane
Ganawa (Blue Moses)
Night in Medina
Marrakesh Blues

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Customer Reviews:

Great Music Hamstrung By Corporate Whim........2004-09-01

The music of pianist Randy Weston, particularly his
collaborations with trombonist/arranger Melba Liston,
rank among the finest achievements in all Music. Yet
this initial release of Weston's timeless anthem BLUE
MOSES, originally issued through the CTI label in the
1970s, is a major disappointment.
The album has great players, among them trumpeter
Freddie Hubbard, and the most authentically Jazz-based
work ever achieved by Grover Washington Jr. on record.
Weston's compositions here are among the finest he
has ever written. Liston's arrangements are clearly
top of the line.
Unfortunately, producer Creed Taylor -or some other
trend-friendly corporate at CTI- apparently forced
Weston to play the entire date on electric piano. An
acoustic grandmaster with deep roots in Duke Ellington
and Thelonious Monk, Weston has always been ill at
ease with utilizing an electronic sound.

This album proves the validity of Weston's apprehension.
His larger-than-life touch, ruminating upon the Blues,
vibrantly nimble in striking the Call of Africa and the
mandates of African American legacy, just does not
communicate on a plugged-in keyboard.
Because of this, the entire album became just another
Pop management exercise in holding back some A-1 Jazz
which -as was the case with most product from the CTI
label- never happened. This session was successful
only for curiosity-happy thrill-seekers wanting their
tastes tickled... rather than fruitfully engaged.

Those interested in hearing how BLUE MOSES is supposed
to sound are advised to pick up THE HEALERS, the classic
duets of Weston and pistol-packing tenor champion David
Murray, or hear Weston's epic 2-CD hook-up with Liston,
Dizzy Gillespie and other friends, THE SPIRITS OF OUR
ANCESTORS. Check a great concert performance of the
roots masterwork on the DVD from Image Enetertainment,
RANDY WESTON: LIVE IN ST. LUCIA.

If your taste for Jazz runs only to the day-glo dilutions
of fusion, CTI cocktail wanderings, or the current slander
known as "smooth jazz", this might be for you.
If you love Jazz in its fullness, and particularly if you
love the work of Randy Weston and Melba Liston,
approach this album with a grain of salt.

Make that a pillar.

great album.......2003-11-25

Some good time blowin by Freddie Hubbard with a swinging Billy Cobham. Grover gets in some nice licks and the charts are very exciting.

great album from the past.......2003-05-30

Back in the 70's, I collected alot of CTI (and the subsidiary KUDU label)records. There were some great albums by Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Joe Farrell, Deodato, Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, George Benson, and a whole slew of others. But I remember this one particular album by Randy Weston, 'cause it was the very first CTI record I ever bought. I haven't heard it in years, but I still can hum the songs from this album. This was a great recording, and I am ordering it as soon as I finish this review. Some other recommendations from CTI records: Polar AC, by Freddie Hubbard, Red Clay, by Freddie Hubbard, The Joe Farrell Quartet, Body Talk by George Benson, Salt, by Stanley Turrentine, and Don't Mess With Mr. T, by Stanley Turrentine. I guarantee you will enjoy every one of these recordings.

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