Uhuru Afrika
| Uhuru Afrika | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | End of April 1961[1] | |||
| Recorded | November 1960 | |||
| Studio | Bell Sound, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Roulette R 65001 | |||
| Producer | Teddy Reig | |||
| Randy Weston chronology | ||||
| ||||
Uhuru Afrika (subtitled/translated as Freedom Africa) is an album by American jazz pianist
Freedom Now Suite had been the victim of an earlier banning order), with copies of the albums being seized in Johannesburg and Cape Town.[3]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [4] |
| DownBeat |   [5] |
The contemporaneous DownBeat reviewer, Ira Gitler, commented that the opening movement was too long, that vocalist Peters was poor in the second movement, and that percussion and solos were effective in the third and fourth movements, respectively.[5] AllMusic awarded the album 5 stars, stating: "Uhuru Afrika is one of the finest (and earliest) combinations of African rhythms with advanced jazz and it features Weston utilizing a 24-piece big band".[4]
Track listing
All compositions by Randy Weston except as indicated
- "Introduction: Uhuru Kwanza" (Langston Hughes) – 2:35
- "First Movement: Uhuru Kwanza" – 5:49
- "Second Movement: African Lady" (Weston, Hughes) – 8:27
- "Third Movement: Bantu" – 8:07
- "Fourth Movement: Kucheza Blues" – 8:03
Personnel
- Randy Weston – piano
- Clark Terry – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Benny Bailey, Richard Williams, Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
- Slide Hampton, Jimmy Cleveland, Quentin Jackson – trombone
- Julius Watkins – French horn
- Gigi Gryce – alto saxophone, flute
- Yusef Lateef – tenor saxophone, flute, oboe
- Sahib Shihab – alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
- Budd Johnson – tenor saxophone, clarinet
- Jerome Richardson – baritone saxophone, piccolo
- Cecil Payne – baritone saxophone
- Les Spann – guitar, flute
- Kenny Burrell – guitar
- George Duvivier, Ron Carter – bass
- Max Roach, Charlie Persip – drums, percussion
- Wilbert Hogan– drums
- congas
- Babatunde Olatunji – percussion
- bongos
- Martha Flowers, Brock Peters – vocals
- Tuntemeke Sanga – narrator
- Melba Liston – arranger
References
- ^ Billboard, May 8, 1961.
- ^ Randy Weston catalog accessed August 14, 2012.
- ^ "Uhuru Afrika banned by South-African government", Jazz Publicity Service, October 5, 1964.
- ^ a b Yanow, Scott, AllMusic review, accessed August 14, 2012.
- ^ a b Gitler, Ira (August 31, 1961). "Randy Weston: Uhuru Afrika". DownBeat. Vol. 28, no. 18. p. 28.