2010 has proven to be a special year for Randy Weston for many reasons. It marks the 50th anniversary of the recording of his landmark LP, Uhuru Afrika—a spectacular four-part suite composed by Weston, arranged by Melba Liston with lyrics by the great poet, Langston Hughes.

The Uhuru session not only brought together musicians from Africa and the African Diaspora, but the LP lead the way in reconnecting jazz to the African continent and charting a new path for modern music—a path which Weston has pioneered with devotion his whole life.

This year is further distinguished by the debut of African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston, a highly anticipated memoir composed by Randy Weston, arranged by Willard Jenkins, and published by Duke University Press. In this moving account, Weston breaks new ground by giving a powerful, honest self-portrait of his musical and spiritual journey in the world in a volume thankfully devoid of the sensationalist fare of sex, drugs, and drama typically included in such works.

FREE RANDY WESTON SONG AT THE END OF ARTICLE

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