[wimpLink artistId="34774"]Mal Waldron[/wimpLink] was an American jazz pianist and composer with a brooding, blues-drenched, rhythmic, highly adaptable style offering distinctive chord voicings, unique left-hand patterns, and enough flexibility to play hard bop and free jazz. He worked with [wimpLink artistId="1070"]Charles Mingus[/wimpLink] during the 1950s, but is best known as [wimpLink artistId="584"]Billie Holiday[/wimpLink]'s final accompanist. He served as Prestige Records' house pianist from the mid-'50s to the early '60s, and in 1961 he led the sessions that became [wimpLink albumId="147576862"]The Quest[/wimpLink], with [wimpLink artistId="3502610"]Eric Dolphy[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="27461"]Booker Ervin[/wimpLink]. It featured one of his most famous compositions, "Fire Waltz." He emigrated to Europe in 1966 and released his first solo piano album, [wimpLink albumId="83952379"]All Alone[/wimpLink]. In 1969 he issued [wimpLink albumId="122102048"]Free at Last[/wimpLink] as [wimpLink artistId="10642453"]ECM[/wimpLink]'s inaugural release. During the '70s and '80s, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] played concerts and recorded under his own name and as a collaborator, touring almost incessantly. Snake-Out, a live duo outing with soprano saxophonist [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Steve Lacy[/wimpLink], kicked off a series of occasional recordings and tours, culminating with 1997's [wimpLink albumId="203642590"]Communiqué[/wimpLink]. That year's solo Maturity also featured his vocals. Maturity 2: He's My Father appeared posthumously in 2003. In 2022, Tompkins Square issued the archival [wimpLink albumId="250392208"]Searching in Grenoble: The 1978 Solo Piano Concert[/wimpLink]. It was followed the next year by the reissue of the Japan-only Reminiscent Suite by the pianiust and Termasa Hino. In April 20234, Elmental MUsic presented the previously unreleased [wimpLink albumId="359643793"]The Mighty Warriors: Live In Antwerp[/wimpLink], featuring [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] and Lacy co-leading a quartet with drummewr [wimpLink artistId="3941528"]Andrew Cyrille[/wimpLink] and bassist [wimpLink artistId="6178306"]Reggie Workman[/wimpLink].
He was born Malcolm Earl Waldron in New York City in 1925 to West Indian immigrants. His father was a mechanical engineer who worked on the Long Island Railroad. The family moved to Jamaica, Queens when [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] was four. He loved jazz as a young child and spent hours listening to it on the radio. At age seven, to discourage his interest in jazz, his parents enrolled him in classical piano studies that lasted until he was 16. In 1939, he heard [wimpLink artistId="4434"]Coleman Hawkins[/wimpLink]' recording of "Body and Soul." Deeply inspired by it, he bought an alto saxophone (he was unable to afford a tenor horn) and taught himself to play from recordings and sheet music. He played alto for local bands that performed at dances, weddings, and bar mitzvahs, often claiming the pianist's role during solos.
After graduating high school, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] enrolled in college but was drafted. Stationed at West Point, he was able to catch the jazz players on 52nd St. while on leave and after hours. In 1945 he was discharged and attended Queens College in New York and studied music with [wimpLink artistId="6341089"]Karol Rathaus[/wimpLink]. It was at Queens where finally shifted all his attention to the piano. He earned a B.A. in music in 1949.
Influenced by [wimpLink artistId="184"]Thelonious Monk[/wimpLink]'s use of space, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] is often compared to him but sounds nothing like him. He possessed his own distinctive chord voicings almost from the start. He freelanced in New York during the early '50s with [wimpLink artistId="3505278"]Ike Quebec[/wimpLink] (with whom he made his recording debut), [wimpLink artistId="6978596"]Big Nick Nicholas[/wimpLink], and a variety of R&B-like groups. In 1956, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] played on several of [wimpLink artistId="1070"]Charles Mingus[/wimpLink]' albums, including the seminal [wimpLink albumId="285125"]Pithecanthropus Erectus[/wimpLink]. He worked with [wimpLink artistId="3585141"]Lucky Millinder[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3511894"]Lucky Thompson[/wimpLink] at the same time he formed his own band in 1956, consisting of trumpeter [wimpLink artistId="4134228"]Idrees Sulieman[/wimpLink], alto saxophonist [wimpLink artistId="3692688"]Gigi Gryce[/wimpLink], bassist [wimpLink artistId="5960290"]Julian Euell[/wimpLink], and drummer [wimpLink artistId="5960289"]Arthur Edgehill[/wimpLink]. This quintet recorded [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink]'s debut leader album, [wimpLink albumId="3962249"]Mal-1[/wimpLink]. [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] served as [wimpLink artistId="584"]Billie Holiday[/wimpLink]'s regular accompanist from April 1957 until her death in July 1959, and appeared on the legendary television broadcast The Sound of Jazz.
In 1957, he released [wimpLink albumId="306166155"]Mal 2[/wimpLink]. His sidemen included [wimpLink artistId="17282"]Jackie McLean[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="4134228"]Sulieman[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="9042"]John Coltrane[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="3657071"]Sahib Shihab[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="4539315"]Bill Hardman[/wimpLink].
As Prestige Records' house pianist and recording session supervisor, he contributed many originals (including "Soul Eyes," written for [wimpLink artistId="9042"]Coltrane[/wimpLink], who recorded it no less than four times) and created basic arrangements that prevented spontaneous dates from becoming overly loose jam sessions. The pianist played on a wide range of dates by artists including [wimpLink artistId="3529514"]Teddy Charles[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="17282"]Jackie McLean[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="15670"]Gene Ammons[/wimpLink].
After [wimpLink artistId="4135592"]Holiday[/wimpLink]'s death, he joined [wimpLink artistId="32867"]Max Roach[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="17325"]Abbey Lincoln[/wimpLink]'s group. The pianist and singer co-composed the Civil Rights jazz anthem "Straight Ahead." He joined soprano saxophonist [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Steve Lacy[/wimpLink] on the latter's [wimpLink albumId="1285347"]Reflections[/wimpLink] in 1958; it was the first recorded collection to consist entirely of [wimpLink artistId="184"]Monk[/wimpLink] compositions. [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] led his own groups but was also part of the [wimpLink artistId="3502610"]Eric Dolphy[/wimpLink]-[wimpLink artistId="3589991"]Booker Little[/wimpLink] Quintet that recorded extensively at the Five Spot in 1961. The following year, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] released [wimpLink albumId="147576862"]The Quest[/wimpLink], featuring [wimpLink artistId="3502610"]Dolphy[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="27461"]Booker Ervin[/wimpLink] (and [wimpLink artistId="6811"]Ron Carter[/wimpLink] on cello). He wrote and arranged for early play-along records that were published by Music Minus One, and wrote scores for modern ballet and film beginning with 1963's The Cool World.
While [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink]'s professional life was full and varied, his personal life was spinning out of control. Long addicted to heroin, he suffered a near-fatal overdose while on-stage with [wimpLink artistId="17325"]Lincoln[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="32867"]Roach[/wimpLink] in 1963, and a complete breakdown in the aftermath. [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] couldn't remember his own name, let alone remember how to play the piano. In the hospital he was given a spinal tap and shock treatments to bring him back.
[wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] had to relearn his compositions by listening to his own recordings and actually transcribing his solos. In the process of educating himself, he created a leaner, more deliberate playing style that relied as much on repetition and blocky chords as on vamps and angular scales. He also became increasingly amenable to free jazz and ways of improvising independent of chord sequences. In 1964 [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] composed the music for the Marcel Carne film Trois chambres à Manhattan. He emigrated to Europe the following year and cut his first solo piano album, [wimpLink albumId="83952379"]All Alone[/wimpLink], for Italy's G.A.C. label in 1966. He settled in Munich in 1967, the same year he composed the music for Herbert Danska's film [wimpLink albumId="198747684"]Sweet Love, Bitter Love[/wimpLink].
[wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] occasionally returned to the U.S. for gigs and visits, but became a major force in European jazz. In 1969 he recorded the album [wimpLink albumId="122102048"]Free at Last[/wimpLink] with a trio; the following year it became the inaugural release from [wimpLink artistId="13389448"]Manfred Eicher[/wimpLink]'s now historic [wimpLink artistId="10642453"]ECM [/wimpLink]label in Munich. Also in 1970, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] cut the solo Tokyo Revisited in the studio for Victor and issued Tokyo Bound with an all-Japanese trio. 1971's Black Glory, with bassist [wimpLink artistId="4119560"]Jimmy Woode[/wimpLink] and drummer [wimpLink artistId="3527222"]Pierre Favre[/wimpLink], was the fourth album to appear from Enja. That year also saw First Encounter with [wimpLink artistId="6480"]Gary Burton[/wimpLink], One for Lady with vocalist [wimpLink artistId="7420596"]Kimiko Kasai[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink albumId="13470098"]The Call[/wimpLink] for JAPO, on which he led an electric organ quartet with [wimpLink artistId="3526922"]Eberhard Weber[/wimpLink] on bass. In 1972, the pianist released the solo Meditations for Japan's Victor, and resumed his working relationship with [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Lacy[/wimpLink] on Mal Waldron with the Steve Lacy Quintet. Two 1974 ensemble recordings in particular -- [wimpLink albumId="15539426"]Hard Talk[/wimpLink] (with [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Lacy[/wimpLink] and trumpeter [wimpLink artistId="4020303"]Manfred Schoof[/wimpLink]) and [wimpLink albumId="134896024"]Up Popped the Devil[/wimpLink] (with [wimpLink artistId="6178306"]Reggie Workman[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3677422"]Billy Higgins[/wimpLink]) -- brilliantly showcased [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink]'s embrace of free jazz.
From 1975 on, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] began appearing regularly in the U.S. again, without establishing residency. He issued the solo album Jazz a Confronto 19 for Italian label Horo's illustrious series. The following year he issued two albums with [wimpLink artistId="17282"]McLean[/wimpLink]: the quartet offering Like Old Times with [wimpLink artistId="3677422"]Higgins[/wimpLink] and bassist [wimpLink artistId="12686920"]Isaso Suzuki[/wimpLink], and Tune Up with the saxophonist's sextet. 1977's trio outing, A Touch of the Blues, offered three long-ish compositions, among them "The Search." A [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] quintet with [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Lacy[/wimpLink] as a co-billed guest issued One-Upmanship on Enja that year as well. In 1978, the pianist released two important recordings: The solo Moods for Enja, that showcased the full maturity of his developed style, and the trio offering For Ursula. In 1979, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] issued a solo tribute to his old boss on Mingus Lives. The great bassist and composer died that February.
During the early '80s, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] worked in studio and live with the Klaus Weiss Quintet, and with South African bassist [wimpLink artistId="7111662"]Johnny Dyani[/wimpLink] released the little-known but important duet recording Some Jive Ass Boer. Most importantly, the pianist began touring with [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Lacy[/wimpLink] playing duos. The previous year's performances made it onto 1982's Snake-Out on Hat Hut, followed by Herbe De L'oubli in 1983. Still other live recordings from those dates appeared on 1986's Let's Call This. The complete concerts were released by Hat Hut in 2003 as Live at Dreher, Paris, 1981 in 2003.
In June of 1982, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] recorded as a trio with drummer [wimpLink artistId="4787647"]Ed Blackwell[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="6178306"]Workman[/wimpLink] on bass. The date was issued in 1983 by Japan's Baybridge as Breaking New Ground. The same trio released Mal Waldron Plays Eric Satie in 1984. The following year, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] issued the solo And Alone for Sony International, and in 1986, he released Space with saxophonist [wimpLink artistId="6571321"]Doudou Gouirand[/wimpLink] and trumpeter [wimpLink artistId="4912716"]Michel Marre[/wimpLink]. [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] also composed the score to Japanese director Haruki Kadokawa's film Tokyo Blues. The solo Both Sides Now appeared in 1987 and featured the pianist playing pop tunes, classical compositions, and jazz; the same year, he, [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Lacy[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] issued [wimpLink albumId="203647533"]Sempre Amore[/wimpLink] for Soul Note. That label also released Eric Dolphy & Booker Little Remembered Live at Sweet Basil. The recording was drawn from a gig the previous year that included bassist Richard Davis, saxophonist [wimpLink artistId="3528789"]Donald Harrison[/wimpLink], trumpeter [wimpLink artistId="3932"]Terrence Blanchard[/wimpLink], and drummer [wimpLink artistId="4787647"]Ed Blackwell[/wimpLink].
In 1990 [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] moved from Munich to Brussels, Belgium. He also visited the States less often, citing then-recent restrictions against smoking in nightclubs. Nonetheless, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] appeared on half-a-dozen recordings that year. Among them were the gorgeous Movie Themes from France with [wimpLink artistId="15674"]Barney Wilen[/wimpLink] and the quartet date Vol. I: Quadrologue at Utopia with [wimpLink artistId="3528923"]Jim Pepper[/wimpLink]. His trio offering Our Colline's a Treasure appeared in 1991, as did the trio set I'll Be Around with [wimpLink artistId="29663"]Enrico Rava[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="4446037"]Tiziana Ghiglioni[/wimpLink]. That same year, he and [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Lacy[/wimpLink] released Hot House.
1992's [wimpLink albumId="203636532"]Crowd Scene[/wimpLink] featured [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] leading a quintet that included saxophonist [wimpLink artistId="3513779"]Sonny Fortune[/wimpLink] for Soul Note, and [wimpLink albumId="203638584"]Up and Down[/wimpLink] with [wimpLink artistId="3614772"]Chico Freeman[/wimpLink] for Black Saint. Two years later, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] and vocalist [wimpLink artistId="25001"]Jeanne Lee[/wimpLink] teamed for the ballads collection After Hours; they reprised it on White Road Black Rain the following year with flutist Toru Tenda. In 1995, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] and vocalist [wimpLink artistId="7881"]Judy Niemack[/wimpLink] released Mingus, Monk & Mal, while Explorations ... To the Mth Degree, a live, improvised duo concert between [wimpLink artistId="32867"]Roach[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink], also appeared.
In 1997, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] issued the live Maturity. Recorded in Japan, it offered standards, pop, and folks songs and featured his voice alongside his piano. He remained busy throughout the rest of the decade. That same year, Soul Eyes, an ensemble studio date, found the pianist in the company of [wimpLink artistId="10920"]Joe Henderson[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="3540147"]Steve Coleman[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="6178306"]Workman[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="3941528"]Andrew Cyrille[/wimpLink], and alternating vocalists [wimpLink artistId="17325"]Lincoln[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="25001"]Lee[/wimpLink].
[wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] kicked off the new century with vocalist [wimpLink artistId="3513995"]Judi Silvano[/wimpLink] on [wimpLink albumId="203664229"]Riding a Zephyr[/wimpLink]. In 2001, he and [wimpLink artistId="3715604"]David Murray[/wimpLink] released the duo offering [wimpLink albumId="241373416"]Silence[/wimpLink]. In September of 2002, [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] was diagnosed with cancer. Remaining optimistic, he continued to tour and record. That year he cut One More Time with [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Lacy[/wimpLink] and bassist [wimpLink artistId="12796482"]Jean-Jacques Avenel[/wimpLink]. He also recorded [wimpLink albumId="16753394"]Left Alone Revisited[/wimpLink] in a duo with saxophonist [wimpLink artistId="17004"]Archie Shepp[/wimpLink]. [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] died on December 2 in Brussels, Belgium at the age of 77. Two posthumous solo offerings appeared in 2003: Maturity 2: He's My Father and an eponymous date -- both were recorded during his final year.
In 2022, Resonance Records' [wimpLink artistId="15004554"]Zev Feldman[/wimpLink] and Tompkins Square's Josh Rosenthal co-produced [wimpLink albumId="250392208"]Searching in Grenoble: The 1978 Solo Piano Concert[/wimpLink]. Taken from the stage of a jazz festival, it was sourced from the archive of Radio France with full participation from the pianist's estate. The electrifying effort showcased [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] playing his own compositions and standards with uncanny improvisational acumen.
The following year, as part of its J Jazz Masterclass Series, England's BBE reissued Reminiscent Suite, a 1973 Japanese Victor recording with [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink] and trumpter [wimpLink artistId="3902162"]Terumasa Hino[/wimpLink] co-leading a quintet that also included bassist [wimpLink artistId="12686920"]Isao Suzuki[/wimpLink], drummer [wimpLink artistId="4695790"]Motohiko Hino[/wimpLink], and tenor saxophonist Takao Uematsu. In time for April 2024's Record Store Day celebration, Elemental Music and producer [wimpLink artistId="15004554"]Zev Feldman[/wimpLink] released [wimpLink albumId="359643793"]The Mighty Warriors: Live In Antwerp[/wimpLink]. Cop-billed to [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Lacy[/wimpLink], the quartet was completed by bassist [wimpLink artistId="6178306"]Reggie Workman[/wimpLink] and drummer [wimpLink artistId="3941528"]Andrew Cyrille[/wimpLink]. The pristinely two-disc set included tunes by [wimpLink artistId="34774"]Waldron[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="42968120"]Lacy[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="6178306"]Workman[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="184"]Thelonious Monk[/wimpLink]. ~ Thom Jurek