Hi-Fly (Randy Weston song)

"Hi-Fly" (also sometimes spelled "Hi Fly" or "High Fly") is one of the best known compositions by pianist Randy Weston, written in the 1950s and inspired by his experience of being 6 feet 8 inches tall,[1] "and how the ground looks different to you than everybody else".[2] Since first being recorded on 1958's New Faces at Newport,[3] "Hi-Fly" appears on several other albums by Weston, including Live at the Five Spot (1959),[4] Niles Littlebig (1969),[5] Tanjah (1973),[6] Perspective (with Vishnu Wood, 1976),[7] Rhythms and Sounds (1978),[8] Earth Birth (1995),[9] Zep Tepi (2005),[10] and The Storyteller (2009).[11]

Jon Hendricks wrote lyrics to the song,[12] recorded first in 1959 on the album The Hottest New Group in Jazz and also appearing on 1961's High Flying With Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Among others who have recorded vocal covers are Abbey Lincoln (on The World Is Falling Down, 1991), Mel Tormé (on 1962's Comin' Home Baby! and other albums),[13] Karin Krog on (Hi-Fly with Archie Shepp)[14] and Sarah Vaughan (In the City of Lights, 1999).