Weldon Jonathan Irvine Jr. (October 27, 1943 – April 9, 2002), also known as Master Wel, was an American composer, playwright, poet, pianist, organist, and keyboardist.

Biography

Irvine, an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, was born in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

, on October 27, 1943. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1965, settling in the St. Albans, Queens neighborhood. He was involved with various musical genres including

Jazz-Funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

, and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

. He served as the bandleader for jazz singer

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

and was a mentor to many New York hip-hop artists, including Q-Tip and

Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...

. He wrote more than 500 songs, including the lyrics for "

To Be Young, Gifted and Black "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" is a song by Nina Simone with lyrics by Weldon Irvine. Simone introduced the song on August 17, 1969, to a crowd of 50,000 at the Harlem Cultural Festival, captured on broadcast video tape and released in 2021 ...

", performed live for the first time by Simone on the album '' Black Gold'' (1970). It has been dubbed the "official" Civil Rights anthem. In 1998, he performed the keys for "Astronomy (8th Light)" on Black Star's album ''

Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star ''Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star'' (often referred to as ''Black Star'') is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Black Star, composed of rappers Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def). The album was released on Sep ...

''. In 1999, Irvine contributed on Mos Def's debut solo album '' Black On Both Sides''. Irvine's last major project was ''The Price of Freedom'' (1999), a compilation of original songs by hip-hop, jazz, funk, and R&B artists to respond to the shooting of

Amadou Diallo In the early hours of February 4, 1999, an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean student named Amadou Diallo (born September 2, 1975) was fired upon with 41 rounds and shot a total of 19 times by four New York City Police Department plainclothes office ...

. In 2000, Irvine provided the vocal introductions to tracks on the first CD of the album ''Late Night Blues'' by UK Drum & Bass producer Big Bud. He co-wrote and performed vocals and played the Fender Rhodes on the first track entitled "Return of Spiritman". He also played the Fender Rhodes on closing track "Persian Blues". He later performed vocals, Fender Rhodes and Hammond organ on the track "Amigo Mio" (also by Big Bud), which appeared on the compilation ''Earth Volume 5''. Irvine committed suicide by shooting himself outside of EAB Plaza and in front of the

Nassau Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately east of the eastern limits of the Borough (New York City), borough of Q ...

located in

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in central Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, within the New York metropolitan area. The population was 32,473 at the time of the 2020 United States census ...

, on April 9, 2002.

Legacy

In 1976, Weldon's childhood friend Collis Davis produced a documentary ''The Edification of Weldon Irvine''. It was originally Davis' Thesis Film during his time at NYU Film School. In 2003,

Madlib Otis Lee Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, music sample, sample-heavy production style, he is rega ...

Mr. Dibbs Mr. Dibbs (born Bradley Duane Forste) is an American disc jockey, DJ and hip hop production, hip hop producer. He is the Founder of 1200 HOBOS j/graff collective He was also one of the founders of Scribble Jam. Early life Born in Cincinnati ...

and Breakestra produced a tribute to Weldon Irvine, "Suite for Weldon". The following year, Madlib released the full-length album '' A Tribute to Brother Weldon''. In 2008, Q-Tip mentions Weldon in his song "Shaka", a tribute to the people who have helped him throughout the years and those who have died. In 2019, a feature-length documentary, ''Digging for Weldon Irvine'', was released by director Victorious De Costa. In 2023,

P-VINE P-Vine Records is an independent record label based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was started in 1976 by Blues Interactions, a firm founded in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi, as a record label focused on black music. The label name ...

acquired the catalog and associated copyrights owned by the estate of Weldon Irvine, for a worldwide territory, including works released from Nodlew Music, hitherto unreleased works, the copyright to "

", and other master recording rights and copyrights owned by the manager of the estate and Irvine’s widow Pauline Cole.

Discography

As leader

*1972: '' Liberated Brother'' (Nodlew Music) *1973: ''

Time Capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...

'' (Nodlew Music) *1974: '' Cosmic Vortex - Justice Divine'' (

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

) *1974: ''In Harmony'' ( Strata-East) *1975: '' Spirit Man'' (

) *1976: '' Sinbad'' (

) *1989: ''Weldon & The Kats'' (Nodlew Music) *1994: ''Music is the Key'' ( Luv N Haight) *1995: ''Keyboards Wild DJ's Smile'' ( Tuff City) *1997: ''Embrace the Positive'' (Nodlew Music) *1998: '' The Sisters'' (Saucerman) *1999: ''The Amadou Project: The Price of Freedom'' (Nodlew Music) *2012: ''Young, Gifted and Broke'' (Shout! Productions) *2015: ''Live at Dean Street'' (Squatty Roo)

As sideman

With Richard Groove Holmes *'' Comin' on Home'' (Blue Note, 1971) With

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

*'' Straight Life'' (CTI, 1971) With Big Bud * ''Late Night Blues'' (

Good Looking Records Good Looking Records is a Jungle music, jungle and drum and bass record label, founded in 1991 by producer LTJ Bukem. The label specializes in jazz-influenced and atmospheric Intelligent drum and bass, intelligent Drum and bass, drum & bass. Ov ...

, 2000)
Earth Volume 5
(Track: Amigo Mio) (

, 2001) With Donald Blackman *''Listen'' ( Expansion Records, 2002)

Charted singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, Weldon 1943 births 2002 suicides 2002 deaths African-American jazz composers African-American jazz pianists American funk musicians Musicians from Hampton, Virginia People from St. Albans, Queens Strata-East Records artists Suicides by firearm in New York (state) Ubiquity Records artists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Virginia American male jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American jazz composers Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people American male jazz pianists