On the 41st anniversary of All Nite Soul, the Jazz Ministry of Saint Peter's Church - the Jazz Church - will honor Randy Weston, NEA Jazz Master, composer and pianist. On Friday, October 7 at 4 PM, in preparation for All Nite Soul, David Schroeder interviews Randy Weston with a book signing of Weston's autobiography African Rhythms. This takes place at Barnes & Noble bookstore at 150 East 86th Street at Lexington Avenue, NYC. Then at Saint Peter's Church on Sunday, October 9 at 5 PM, Jazz Vespers begins with the sound of African rhythms. All Nite Soul goes into full swing at 7 PM with over 80 musicians celebrating All Nite Soul and honoring Randy Weston.
Randy Weston was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1926 and cites Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Art Tatum, and, of course, Duke Ellington as his other piano heroes. It was Thelonious Monk, however, who had the greatest impact. "He was the most original I ever heard," Weston remembers. "He played like they must have played in Egypt 5000 years ago." In the 1950s, Randy Weston performed in New York and wrote many of his best loved tunes, including his greatest hit, "Hi-Fly." Weston (who is 6'8") says the tune is a "tale of being my height and looking down at the ground." Randy Weston has never failed to make the connections between African and American music. His dedication is due in large part to his father, Frank Edward Weston, who told his son that he was, "an African born in America." "He told me I had to learn about myself and about him and about my grandparents," Weston said in an interview, "and the only way to do it was I'd have to go back to the motherland one day." Randy moved to Africa in the late 1960s. Though he settled in Morocco, he traveled throughout the continent tasting the musical fruits of other nations. "At the end," Weston says, "we all realized that our music was different but the same, because if you take out the African elements of bossa nova, samba, jazz, blues, you have nothing. To me, it's Mother Africa's way of surviving in the new world.""All Nite Soul 2011 - Honoring Randy Weston" takes place on Sunday, October 9, 2011 at Saint Peter's Church, 619 Lexington Avenue (at 54th Street).
5:00 PM: Jazz Vespers Free Will Offering
7:00 PM: All Nite Soul Concert - $20 Suggested Donation - Advance tickets at www.saintpeters.org/events
212 935 2200 "E" train to Lexington Avenue or "#6" to 51st Street
The Jazz Ministry at Saint Peter's Church is a home for diverse individuals and communities which celebrates the dignity and vitality of Jazz, provides vibrant liturgy and pastoral care, and through intersecting partnerships, offers jazz programs, education and services. An outreach program of Saint Peter's Lutheran Church in New York City, The Jazz Ministry was founded in 1965 by the late Reverend John Garcia Gensel who created Jazz Vespers, a worship service featuring a wide range of jazz musicians that is held each Sunday at 5:00 PM. Our pastors include Amandus Derr, Jared Stahler, Kaji Spellman, Bill Eschen, Héctor Ribone, Kevin O'Hara and Jazz Pastor Emeritus Dale Lind. The Jazz Ministry thrives today with many events and programs such as All Nite Soul, Prez Fest, Jazz on the Plaza, Seminars for Musicians, Midtown Jazz at Midday, memorials, tributes, concerts, and others yet to be developed, to serve the jazz community.
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