Highlife (Randy Weston album)

Highlife
Studio album by
Randy Weston
ReleasedEarly August 1963[1]
RecordedApril 1963
Webster Hall, New York City
GenreJazz
Length36:55
LabelColpix
CP 456
ProducerJack Lewis
Randy Weston chronology
Uhuru Afrika
(1960) 		Highlife
(1963) 		Randy
(1964)

Highlife (full title Music from the New African Nations featuring the Highlife) is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1963 and originally released on the Colpix label.[2] Weston had traveled to Africa for the first time in 1961 for a series of concerts in Lagos, Nigeria, sponsored by the American Society of African Culture, and the album is inspired by the music of the African continent, in particular the highlife genre of West Africa.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]

Allmusic awarded the album 5 stars, with its reviewer Scott Yanow stating: "Highly recommended, these sessions are among the recorded highpoints of Randy Weston's productive career."[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Randy Weston except as indicated

  1. "Caban Bamboo Highlife" - 2:46
  2. "Niger Mambo" (Bobby Benson) - 5:03
  3. "Zulu" - 4:42
  4. "In Memory Of" - 7:46
  5. "Congolese Children" - 2:34
  6. "Blues to Africa" - 6:23
  7. "Mystery of Love" (Guy Warren) - 7:41

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Billboard, August 31, 1963.
  2. ^ Randy Weston catalog, accessed August 15, 2012.
  3. ^ Highlife liner notes, Randy Weston discography, accessed June 20, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Yanow, S. Allmusic Review, accessed August 15, 2012.