Get Happy with the Randy Weston Trio.

Signed flamboyantly by Weston in red marker pen on the back cover, "To Eugene, Randy Weston"; the recipient adding his name and spiral motif in green marker pen at the foot, "Timiraos". Albums autographed by Weston are certainly not common. An appealing provenance: born in Havana, Eugene Timiraos (1955-2018) was a graduate of the UCLA Film School and for a time assistant to the pioneering experimental filmmaker Shirley Clarke. "As a collagist, filmmaker, and provocateur, Eugene created student films that documented the early years of the Los Angeles punk scene, performances by jazz musicians who were among his personal heroes, and a year's worth of sunsets recorded by time-lapse photography from a window in Silver Lake. In January 2012 his work was shown at a retrospective of punk video curated by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Eugene was a relentless record collector who took pride in his nearly complete set of the recordings of Duke Ellington as well as his impressive and discriminating collection of hard bop and post-bop artists such as Lee Morgan and Randy Weston" (obituary in United Teacher, Volume XLVII, Number 4, February 8, 2029; retrieved 9 November 2020). Originally released in 1956, this early album has Weston teamed with Sam Gill (bass) and Wilbert Hogan (drums), and "finds the pianist still in his formative stages. His supple technique is evident, along with key influences: Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, and Art Tatum - their lessons not quite yet melded into an approach of Weston's own. The set shows Weston's facility with standards, Ellingtonia, even ragtime, but, with several tracks coming in well under four minutes, the performances offer little room for development. The impression here is that of a pianist of great potential limbering up before the curtain rises for the show" (Jim Todd for AllMusic). 12-inch vinyl LP (Riverside RLP 12-203 / SMJ-6063M), original sleeve and separate Japanese liner notes, original album cover. Short split to top edge, just a little shelf wear otherwise very good; disc in excellent condition.…