Weston studied classical piano as a child. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he ran a restaurant that was frequented by many of the leading bebop musicians. Among his piano heroes are numbered Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Art Tatum and Duke Ellington (and Wynton Kelly was a cousin), but it was Thelonious Monk who had the greatest impact. Weston has had a considerable career in jazz as a pianist, composer, and bandleader. In the late 1940s he began gigging with bands including Bullmoose Jackson, Frank Culley and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. He worked with Kenny Dorham in 1953 and in 1954 withCecil Payne, before forming his own trio and quartet and releasing his debut recording as a leader in 1954, Cole Porter In a Modern Mood. He was voted New Star Pianist in Down Beat magazine's International Critics' Poll of 1955. Several notable albums followed, including Little Niles near the end of that decade. His piano style owes much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk (he has paid direct tribute to both), but it is highly distinctive in its qualities: percussive, highly rhythmic, capable of producing a wide variety of moods. After five decades devoted to music, Randy Weston continues to perform throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Europe. In 2002 he performed with bassistJames Lewis for the inauguration of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt. That same year he performed with Gnawa musicians at Canterbury Cathedral at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He had the honour of playing at the Kamigamojinja Shrine in Japan in 2005. He has been the recipient of many international awards, including: in 1997 the French Order of Arts and Letters; in 1999 the Japan's Swing Journal Award; and in 2000 the Black Star Award from the Arts Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana. In June 2006, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Music by Brooklyn College, City University of New York. In October 2010, Weston will publish his autobiography, African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston with Duke University Press. Randy Weston is truly a face of Brooklyn.