Randy Weston - Earth Birth

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:41
Size: 107,2 MB
Art: Front

( 3:55)  1. Earth Birth
( 3:48)  2. Pam's Waltz
( 7:48)  3. Little Niles
( 2:58)  4. Babe's Blues
( 5:43)  5. Where
(10:24)  6. Hi-Fly
( 6:49)  7. Portrait of Billie Holiday
( 5:11)  8. Berkshire Blues
( 0:00)  9. Portrait of Vivian

Recorded in Montreal with 24 strings from the Montreal Symphony and two can't-miss jazz cohorts, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Billy Higgins, here we have another reunion between Weston and arranger Melba Liston in a collection of mostly early Weston tunes, some dating back to the early 1950s. The strings sound unearthly, as if they were recorded in a dead studio (the locale is the Ludget-Duvernay Hall of Montreal's Monument National), and even though Liston blends them with the piano in an integral manner, they respond stiffly; it's an uneasy, not terribly imaginative fusion. The most famous Weston tune, "Hi-Fly," is completely retooled into a cocktail-hour ballad it also features quite an intricate string chart and composer Weston enjoys poking around the tune's angles and corners. Coming after his exciting African experiments in the '90s, this CD, despite Weston's sharply etched solos, is a relatively minor nostalgic effort. ~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/album/earth-birth-mw0000086449 

Personnel: Randy Weston (piano); Marcelle Mallette, Pascale Frenette, Marc Béliveau, Ariane Bresse, Isabelle Lessard, Daniel Godin, Hung Bang, Sophie Dugas, Nadia Francavilla, Monique Poitras, Denis Béliveau, Jeanne LeBlanc (violin); Suzanne Careau, Christiane Lampron, Andre Roy, Margot Aldrich, Jocelyne Bastien, Francine Lupien, Sylvie Laville, Lorraine Desmarais (viola); Sylvie Lambert, Christine Harvey, Jean-Luc Morin, Christine Giguère (cello); Jacques Beaudoin (double bass); Billy Higgins (drums)

Earth Birth

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