WELDON IRVINE

Weldon Irvine (Composer/Lyricist, Musical Director/Arranger) has been a prominent musician since 1964, when the quintet to which he belonged won the Intercollegiate Jazz Festival at Villanova. He received a BA degree from Hampton Institute in 1965 with a major in English Literature and minored in Speech, Drama, and Music Theory. Arriving in New York that same year, Irvine was soon to form his own 17-piece band, which served as a workshop for of the finest talent in New York, to include Billy Cobham, Lenny White, George Cables, Randy Brecker, Steve Grossman, Bennie Maupin, and many more. He has recorded seven albums, directed plays, conducted lectures, performed in concerts all over the world, composed a liturgical jazz service for a 50-voice choir, and received grants from the National Endowment For The Arts.

In 1977 The Billie Holiday Theatre produced his blockbuster, "Young, Gifted, and Broke", a musical that surpassed all previous box office records in its 8-month run. "Broke" also won four Audelco Awards, including best musical. Also produced by the Billie Holiday Theatre have been his three works, "The Vampire and the Dentist", "The Will", and "Keep It Real", as well as "Sunshine Lovin'", "Donny's House", "Satan Never Sleeps", and "Over Forty", each having music composed by Weldon Irvine.

His more than 500 compositions have been recorded by such luminaries as Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrnetine, Horace Silver, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, and the Fat Back Band. He wrote the lyrics for the now classic "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black", first recorded by Nina Simone (for whom he worked as Musical Director and more recently used in the film "Higher Learning".
   
His songs have been sampled by many hip-hop artists, including KRS-ONE, Ice Cube, A Tribe Called Quest, Leaders of the New School, Too Short, Casual, Top Authority, Third Bass, and many others. As a way of reaching a new audience, Weldon has played keyboard on the Black Star CD and on "Black On Both Sides" by Mos Def's latest release, "The Amadou Project".
   
A man who has created much and who lives to create much more, Weldon Irvine remains an artist driven by the fervent desire to share.