Uhuru Afrika
Studio album by
Randy Weston
ReleasedEnd of April 1961[1]
RecordedNovember 1960
StudioBell Sound, New York City
GenreJazz
LabelRoulette
R 65001
ProducerTeddy Reig
Randy Weston chronology
Live at the Five Spot
(1959) 		Uhuru Afrika
(1961) 		Highlife
(1963)

Uhuru Afrika (subtitled/translated as Freedom Africa) is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Roulette label.[2] The album features lyrics and liner notes by the poet Langston Hughes and was banned in South Africa in 1964, at the same time as was Lena Horne's Here's Lena Now! (Max Roach's 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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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

  1. "Introduction: Uhuru Kwanza" (Langston Hughes) – 2:35
  2. "First Movement: Uhuru Kwanza" – 5:49
  3. "Second Movement: African Lady" (Weston, Hughes) – 8:27
  4. "Third Movement: Bantu" – 8:07
  5. "Fourth Movement: Kucheza Blues" – 8:03

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Billboard, May 8, 1961.
  2. ^ Randy Weston catalog accessed August 14, 2012.
  3. ^ "Uhuru Afrika banned by South-African government", Jazz Publicity Service, October 5, 1964.
  4. ^ a b Yanow, Scott, AllMusic review, accessed August 14, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Gitler, Ira (August 31, 1961). "Randy Weston: Uhuru Afrika". DownBeat. Vol. 28, no. 18. p. 28.
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