NEC Jazz Orchestra To Present AFRICAN COOKBOOK: MUSIC OF RANDY WESTON AND MELBA LISTON

The NEC Jazz Orchestra will present African Cookbook: Music of Randy Weston and Melba Liston on Thursday, February 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Jordan Hall. Conducted by Ken Schaphorst, the program honors the influential partnership between composer, pianist, and bandleader Randy Weston and trombonist, composer, and arranger Melba Liston. The concert is free, but tickets are required. For more information, visit necmusic.edu.

Liston served as Weston’s arranger and collaborator for decades, helping shape landmark recordings including Little Niles and Uhuru Afrika. The program will highlight Liston’s work with Weston alongside selections reflecting her collaborations with artists such as Art Blakey, Quincy Jones, and Dizzy Gillespie.

Born in 1926, Melba Liston became one of the few prominent female instrumentalists of her era, performing with major jazz ensembles while also establishing herself as a sought-after arranger. Her work blended jazz traditions with African musical influences, and her partnership with Weston produced a distinctive orchestral sound marked by rhythmic complexity and expansive textures. Working in a male-dominated field, Liston broke barriers as both a performer and behind-the-scenes architect of modern jazz.

Randy Weston, also born in 1926, developed a percussive piano style deeply informed by African rhythms and his travels across the continent. Over a career spanning more than six decades, he composed and performed works that explored African heritage within the jazz idiom. His collaboration with Liston became central to that artistic vision, building cultural bridges through music.