+profile. weldon irvine

the edification of weldon irvine
+laylah amatullah barrayn

On April 9, 2002 Weldon Irvine- pianist, playwright and composer of over 500 works- committed suicide at the age of 59. Well known for his work with Nina Simone, Weldon served as Simone’s artistic director and penned the lyrics for the classic Young, Gifted and Black. And that is just a portion of the legacy Irvine left behind when he took his life and followed in the path of his mother who also committed suicide.

It is this legacy of prodigious talent and personal turmoil that is encapsulated in the documentary The Edification of Weldon Irvine. Filmmaker Collis H. Davis Jr., who was a long-time friend of the late jazz musician, shot the film in 16mm film over 20 years ago as his thesis project while in graduate school at New York University.

"I decided to shoot Weldon as a subject for my film because at the time he had gained some sort of notoriety as a musician and recording artist with MCA records." Explains Davis, who is currently a professor living in the Philippines.

The documentary opens up in 1974 with Irvine speaking with Davis about seclusion and isolation. Weldon explained the need to create two identities in order to remain self- possessed; one identity for public consumption and the other his own true personal persona. Throughout the film Irvine delves into his own personal philosophy concerning the struggle to attain peace of mind amidst a troubled family background and music industry drama. Beautifully shot and edited, it pans from Irvine in performance at the Village Gate with his then band, The Kats, to him in martial arts class and on location in his hometown of Hampton, Virginia. The documentary also gives an in-depth interview with his grandmother who raised him after his parents divorced.

Weldon speaks profoundly on his art and his honesty is moving. He talks of his relationship with Simone in reverent tones, "Nina needed an organist to embellish her sound," Weldon explains of Nina Simone recruiting him to her band. "She was a gifted poet, prophet and a perfectionist, which is why we worked together well." Their relationship would set the standard for a life of collaborative work for Weldon, he would go on to work with many artists and poets from different genres from Miles Davis to Big Daddy Kane to poet MuMs the schemer.

Hip hop was especially close to his heart. Weldon had much faith in hip hop and was very supportive of the MCs who used the art form to offer commentary and invoke change. His work has been sampled often by hip hop artists, his sound lacing A Tribe Called Quest’s “Electric Relaxation” which was derived from Irvine’s We Getting Down, for example. In 1999 he teamed up with many well known MCs, who affectionately dubbed him Master Wel, to create the Amadou Project. Although never officially released, the Amadou Project celebrates the life of murdered West African vendor Amadou Diallo, shot 41 times in 1999, and also gives harsh commentary on police brutality.

The Edification of Weldon Irvine takes us back to when Irvine had the world ahead of him and gives us the opportunity to see what a tremendous talent he was. But there is a sadness at the core of the film because we know how his life would turn out. Many questions still surround the nature of Weldon’s death. Many have speculated about his decision to take his life in the parking lot of an EAB Bank, suggesting that it symbolized his rumored struggles with the IRS.

Talib Kweli, whose song Where Do We Go from his album Quality is a dedication to Irvine who was a close friend and musical collaborator, said it best

“We had Weldon to turn to but he may not have had anyone to turn to himself.”

Laylah Amatullah Barrayn is a frequent contributer to Nat Creole and the Queen of the Night. To contact her go to http://gotjazz.info.