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Arts & Entertainment

Jazz Giant Randy Weston Makes Ultra-Rare Wine Country Appearance

Pianist's tribute to Duke Ellington at the Napa Valley Opera House is his only West Coast appearance, by invitation from an old friend who now lives in Napa.

Casual jazz fans might recognize Randy Weston as the composer of the enduring tunes “Little Niles” and “Hi-Fly,” both of which were recorded by the hot 1960s vocal group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross.

True, deep-dyed lovers of great jazz know Weston as a mighty performer in his own right, a powerful and elegant pianist whose recordings like African Cookbook and Spirits of our Ancestors belong on the same shelf as Duke Ellington’s suites.

And thanks to Bruce Hopewell of Napa, with whom he’s been friends since their teens in 1940s Brooklyn, Weston is playing an ultra-rare concert at the Saturday night.

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“We all hung out together as youngsters, and now I’m bringing him to Napa,” said Hopewell, a longtime accountant for American jazz musicians including Kenny Burrell, Dorothy Donegan and Dexter Gordon, whose estate he continues to manage.

Hopewell, whose career has also included producing many jazz concerts in New York and preparing the final, posthumous tax returns for Jimi Hendrix, is a trustee of the Napa Valley Opera House and founder of the year-old Napa Valley Jazz Society.

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In a first-of-its kind collaboration, Hopewell has teamed up with the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, the Sonoma Valley Jazz Society and the Palo Alto Jazz Alliance to produce Saturday’s Opera House show with his boyhood friend.

“It’s kind of historic,” Hopewell said, over dinner at Morimoto Napa earlier this week.

Hopewell said although Weston had played in Healdsburg years ago, he has never been to Napa.

The occasion is triply rare because Weston, 85, relocated to Morocco in the 1960s and now divides his time between Africa, Paris and New York, which leaves little time for touring.

Hopewell said Weston is flying in Friday for the concert, a tribute to Ellington, and will spend the weekend in Napa.

Members of any of the four jazz societies can purchase discounted tickets to the 7 p.m. Opera House concert, which is preceded by a 5:30 p.m. party in the downstairs Café Theatre where Weston will sign copies of his new autobiography, African Rhythms.

General-admission tickets are $35 and $40 at (707) 226-7372, nvoh.org or the box office at 1030 Main Street.

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