Music of Randy Weston and Melba Liston

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Went to the New England Conservatory the other night to see The Conservatory Jazz Orchestra. The students - led by Ken Schaphorst - are exceptionally amazing. A great jewel of Boston. The Jazz is big band music. Must be heard! This evening was dedicated to the music - often in collaboration - of Melba Liston and Randy Westin. I made an embedded Spotify playlist based on the program that anyone on the web can sample, and Spotify users can add to their playlists.

The New England Conservatory has a special resonance here. One of my first research interviews ever was here when I tracked down the great Jaki Byard. My father as a youth in the 1920s took violin lessons there. I can imagine, as if watching a silent film. The boy in knickers navigating the long set of trolly connections, violin in case, from Dorchester to Huntington Avenue. The case holding a dream of his mother's for better things for him and his family. 

Thinking tonight:

Every violin has a story or two, doesn't it?
 
And:

Isn't the entire 20th Century like an old film in one's memory projector?



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Remember the Main Frame

Location: Boston, MA, USA

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