Pianist and composer Randy Weston died on September 1, at 92. His playing style was strongly influenced by folks like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Earl "Fatha" Hines, and especially Thelonious Monk, but it was his embrace of, and efforts to explicitly link jazz to, African music that made him such a unique and important figure. (Being either 6'7" or 6'8" also helped with the "unique" part; he was literally a towering figure in jazz.)
Columns
Ugly Beauty: The Month In Jazz – September 2018
