Ancient Future/Blue

Randy Weston (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Randy Weston
• Audio CD (March 13, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Mutable Music/Stickfigure
• ASIN: B000064122
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #370,013 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Ancient Future

2. Roots of the Nile

3. Kom Ombo

4. Bambara

5. Portrait of Oum Keltoum

6. Ballad for T

7. Isis

8. Blues for CB

9. PCN

10. It Don't Mean a Thing

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Penny Packer Blues

2. Earth Birth

3. The Last Day

4. Lagos

5. Blue in Tunisia

6. Mystery of Love

7. Ellington Tusk

Editorial Reviews

This 2 CD set of Randy Weston's solo piano music comprises both new recordings as well as a reissue of his Blue lp, originally issued on 1750 Arch Records in 1984. "In African music," Randy Weston observed in a 1998 interview, "there aren't the categories of the past, the present and the future. Music is a timeless thing." He proves it every time he touches a piano or puts pencil to composition paper. Weston descends from a long line of seers who build on what the ancestors left us to create music of startling originality—music of the future. This is why Ancient Future so perfectly defines Weston’s approach to music and life.

Weston's music reveals the wisdom of the ancient world, where art, science, and spirituality were one, where music was not entertainment-for-sale but a life-force at the core of civilization itself. He demolishes distinctions between traditional and modern, composition and improvisation, enveloping us with what really counts: the music’s spiritual essence. And what better way to capture the spiritual dimensions of this great music than Weston, in his solitude, singing, praying, meditating, shouting, through the medium of Bosendorfer piano which he transforms into a giant talking drum or a 97-stringed kora?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent work from a modern master, November 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Ancient Future/Blue (Audio CD)

This is a double cd. Ancient future is a cd of solo piano recently recorded. Blue is a reissue, also solo piano. There aren't too many Randy Weston solo CDs, so this is a rare treat. Both CDs are good, and Blue, the older one, is excellent. He is very original, kind of a cross between Monk and Abdullah Ibrahim is the only way to describe his style. He is a major modern songwriter too. "The mystery of Love" is just so beautiful.