I was today years old when I learned that Randy Weston’s seminal 1960 jazz record Uhuru Afrika was so powerful that it was banned by the apartheid-era South African government. You really know you’ve made a classic when it gets canceled by racists. And if you’re wondering if the members of the 1960s South African Board of Censors just made a generational whiff when they blacklisted Weston’s record, they also banned the Beatles’ White Album a few years later. So, y’know, at least they were consistent in their bad taste.
Weston, an acolyte of Thelonious Monk — ever heard of him? — became famous for fusing modern jazz with African sounds and rhythms. The Brooklyn-born composer, pianist and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master died at age 92 in 2018, but an all-star sextet will perform a tribute to his music at Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro on Saturday, October 17.
The African Rhythms Sextet is composed of musicians who played with Weston for years, including his own piano protégé, Sharp Radway, and NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart on drums.
As Weston wrote in his memoir, African Rhythms, “I came to be a storyteller; I’m not a jazz musician; I tell stories in music.”
Well, he told a lot of stories over his 70-year career. Head over to Vermont Jazz Center to take it all in. Tickets are available at vtjazz.org.
I’ve been noticing bands putting a little more oomph into their album-release shows, and I’m here for it. Making records is freaking hard, so go ahead and celebrate it, I say.
Take Montpelier synth-pop act Pluto Rising: The band is dropping its debut album, After Dark, on Friday, October 16. That night, its members throw a cosmic-themed launch party at Hugo’s in downtown Montpelier. Guests are encouraged to “embrace the theme and come dressed in sparkles, sequins, space suits, or whatever cosmic attire inspires them,” the band said in a press release. Signature Pluto Rising cocktails will help send you into orbit.
If you’re thinking of heading to the space dance, you can preview the album at plutorising.bandcamp.com. Singles “Soldier of Fortune” and “Gyroscope” are both streaming and will get you into the proper synth-disco vibe.
To the surprise of no one, I’ve been thinking a lot about all the stuff we as a community lose when local venues go under. Not being able to pop by Honky Tonk Tuesday at Burlington’s Radio Bean still feels weird, and I can’t tell you how much I miss Nectar’s trivia night — shout-out to Shana, the hostess with the mostest. As bad as losing all the shows has been, it’s also colossally sucked that beloved recurring special events have lost their homes. I’m thinking specifically of the Burlington Record Fair that Nectar’s hosted in recent years.
Would my finances improve if I missed out on one of my favorite record fairs? OK, first off: How dare you ask such a thing? So rude. Though you’re definitely correct. That’s not the point! When your friendly neighborhood music editor gets the big sads, he needs his retail therapy and vinyl fixes, all right?
Thankfully, not only did the Burlington Record Fair survive and move to Burlington City Hall Auditorium this year, but the folks at Zero Gravity are hosting a whole other record fair on Sunday, October 18. (Screw you, disposable income. Prepare to be annihilated!) For the second year running, the South End brewery welcomes multiple vendors with boxes upon boxes of goodies waiting to be dug out and added to your own crate.
Get more info on Zero Gravity’s Instagram. And good hunting!
This article appears in October 14 • 2026.
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