Mal Waldron

[.:.impossible]

I can't find anything online about Unicorn Video... here's the information on the sleeve in case anyone is interested.

spine:

Live at the Village Vanguard Vol 4: Mal Waldron and Friends 96113

above upc:

Unicorn Video

21119 Osborne St.

Canoga Park, CA 91304

upc 733317961138

©2003 Unicorn Video Inc. All rights reserved

[Late]

Get Seagulls for $2.67 here, and Git-Go for $1.78 here. Very much worth it, for those prices.

Late,

Thanks for the tip. I was all ready to drop iTunes prices on these two. Makes you wish Amazon would play hardball with Apple and start charging $.75 (or less) a tune and an equivalently lower per album price. They just did went to "war" with Walmart over book pricing, so it's not like it's out of the question.

I'm glad someone could take advantage of those prices. With eMusic and iTunes around, I commonly forget about Amazon's mp3 section, which is often the lowest-priced of the three (at least for full albums). The only time I purchase music from iTunes is when I can't find the CD, and eMusic and Amazon don't have that particular album. Or when someone gifts me an iTunes card!

What do you all think of Waldron's sense of rhythm? His eighth note runs don't typically "swing" like, say, Wynton Kelly, but they certainly possess a swing of their own. Very few can lock into a groove like Mal.

[Guy Berger]

What do people think of the recently released David Murray + Waldron duets? Seems like a potentially very promising combo.

[Bright Moments]

just enjoyed "free at last"

[clifford_thornton]

Has anyone here heard Waldron's Spanish Bitch? I'd really like to hear that session.

Certainly one of the finest of the 70s trio dates. I also like Number Nineteen.

[Big Wheel]

Big Waldron post recently from Ethan Iverson at Do the Math, btw.

[king ubu]

Big Waldron post recently from Ethan Iverson at Do the Math, btw.

Just read it this morning (Niko averted me about it) - very good!

I'll have to re-listen to "What It Is" with a new set of ears tonight! Always thought it was a bit too lose and "laisser-faire" in approach, but now my curiosity is piqued again!

[king ubu]

This is a lovely disc from the latter end of his life. From earlier didcussions I believe it was a European release with limited availability in the states.

Steve Coleman (as -1,2) Joe Henderson (ts -9) Mal Waldron (p) Reggie Workman (b) Andrew Cyrille (d) Jeanne Lee (vo -2,3,10) Abbey Lincoln (vo -5,7)

"At The Groove", Schelle, Belgium, August 15-17, 1997

1. Judy BMG 74321 53887-2

2. Soul Eyes -

3. Fire Waltz -

4. Spaces -

5. Straigh Ahead -

6. From Darkness Into Light -

7. God Bless The Child -

8. Dee's Dilemma -

9. The Git Go -

10. No More Tears -

Distribution throughout Europe of this superb disc was very erratic. It's very hard to get a copy of it nowadays.

Whenever I have run into a copy lately, I bought it and sent it to friends.

Yes you did

Will have to play that one again as well, it's been a while!

[WorldB3]

Very fond of Waldron - nice and understated.

This one is a dream. It also has my favourite Charlie Rouse playing:

I saw Mal Waldron with Steve Lacy not long before his death in Brecon. Magical concert.

FYI - the 320 bit MP3 albums of this and the Get Go are going for 1.98 on Amazon. A good way to check these out as the vinyl is impossible to find and cheaper with higher bit rate than grabbing them on emusic.

I was listening to the Get Go the other night and fell in love with it all over again. Seagulls is an all time favorite.

Edited April 14, 2010 by WorldB3

[clifford_thornton]

I don't agree with Iverson that a Waldron record is entirely 'made' by the presence of Blackwell vs. somebody like Pierre Courbois or Fred Braceful. Sure, Workman and Blackwell are amazing, but I don't think any of those European or Japanese trio records "suffer" because of different/more obscure personnel.

[RDK]

Get Seagulls for $2.67 here, and Git-Go for $1.78 here. Very much worth it, for those prices.

Late,

Thanks for the tip. I was all ready to drop iTunes prices on these two. Makes you wish Amazon would play hardball with Apple and start charging $.75 (or less) a tune and an equivalently lower per album price. They just did went to "war" with Walmart over book pricing, so it's not like it's out of the question.

Lots of Mal available on Emusic as well, much of it quite cheap.

[Tom Storer]

The Iverson blog on Waldron is here, incidentally.

It's a good article. I haven't commented in this thread because Waldron is one of my least favorite pianists, but Iverson manages both to pay homage to a musician he counts as a vital influence, and to describe all the things I don't like about him...

After a token nod at running the II/V changes, most of the piano solo on Waldron’s "Fire Waltz" consists of walking up and down a C minor ninth chord or the pentatonic scale.

This solo prefigures Waldron’s mature music. He was probably encouraged by how well this new style fit with Davis and Blackwell. All three play what they play: no exceptions, no hesitations, no reactions. It’s a kind of informed and intentional ignorance. I would never dare accuse these profound musicians of not listening to each other but listening does seem somewhere down the list of essentials...

[...]

While on the 50’s records he threads changes, the mature Waldron didn’t give a damn about making guide tones connect in satisfying or surprising ways. The right hand is a incantatory shaman sitting atop the chugging, low-register left, insisting that a short stutter of melody will fit anything: any harmony, any place in the beat, any tune. If the changes are noticed, simple lines are repeated in unvarying sequence. (His old solo on "You Stepped Out of A Dream" seems like Warne Marsh in comparison.) Both standards and originals have the same basic sound, which is a droning, vamping stomp.

[...]

Some professionals find Mal Waldron mature music merely amateurish, probably because it doesn’t play by the rules of sophisticated jazz. It’s certainly not that swinging, in part because Waldron frequently pushes ahead of the beat. Solo or duo I don’t really notice this, and trusted companions like Ed Blackwell or a long list of B-team drummers would helpfully contextualize Waldron with either righteous authority or bland incompetence. But I sympathize with those who have heard mature Waldron collaborations with more conventionally solid straight-ahead musicians and found the feel a bit awkward.

[...]

Jordan’s blues "Charlie Parker's Last Supper" is swinging and singing hard until the piano solo, when Mal’s stutter once again seeks what is simultaneously lurid and boring.

I know Waldron speaks to many. With rare exceptions, I can't get with it, and the above quotes address many of my difficulties with him. That's my problem, but I'm glad, and pretty impressed, that Iverson can describe things so objectively that even when praising, his evidence helps understand the opposite viewpoint.

Edited April 15, 2010 by Tom Storer

[.:.impossible]

To me, Waldron is insistent. His music demands time not be measured by anything other than his hands while he plays. There is no middle ground. Either you are with him, or he is against you, but it is your choice.

I'm very much looking forward to revisiting a few hours of his duets with Steve Lacy next week.

[king ubu]

Yeah, I dug up the hatOLOGY 4CD set a couple of weeks ago... but as I felt I had no time for dedicated listening yet, I haven't started revisiting it... you need time, indeed!

[blajay]

I just stumbled upon this film on Mal Waldron, and so far it seems really good (I've only watched the first chunk so far). Anybody have more information on this or have the DVD which also has a short piece on Barry Harris? I'd be interested to hear about it.

[Leeway]

Coincidentally, I was listening to an LP of Waldron' solo album, "UPDATE," a couple of nights ago, and it occurred to me that one way to describe his playing is "tough love."

[Shawn]

I love Mal (especially the era before his "hiatus").

I grew to appreciate him because of the Coltrane Prestige big box; whenever a certain arrangement would grab me, I'd check the liner notes and sure enough it was a session that Mal was responsible for. That Coltrane box transformed itself into a "Mal Waldron" box about that time and it was quite a wonderful journey.

It's been many years since I've listened to some of these sessions, but I have a feeling I would still enjoy them immensely.

Mal probably had almost as distinctive use of space in his playing as Monk did. They use that space very differently, and I'm guessing it was just naturally "built into" their chemistry.

I still remember playing the Impressions trio set over and over when I first got it, what an amazing album!

There are plenty of recordings from later in his career that I love as well, though his playing did change drastically between the two eras. My Dear Family is probably my favorite of his later recordings.

Even if the only tune he ever arranged was "One By One", I'd still be a fan.

[Steve Reynolds]

I think the later Waldron sound is *much* more unique as compared to the pre-sabbatical sound.

The 80's and 90's material is the strongest to my ears - especially the material with Betsch, Schuller and Pepper.

[crispi]

Mal's 1971 album "The Call" is one of my favorites. He plays electric piano and there's also an organ on the date played by Jimmy Jackson (with a very distinct sound, I'd say more rock than jazz, but not a Deep Purple kind of rock). Eberhard Weber is on bass and Fred Braceful on drums. This is on JAPO records, but practically an ECM recording.

I also recommend Mal Waldron's German recordings with Dusko Goykovich from 1967, some of which are available on the (great) European compilations "Forum West: Modern Jazz from West Germany 1962-1968) and "Focus Jazz: More Modern Jazz from the Wewerka Archives 1966-1969".

[clifford_thornton]

Oh yeah, The Call rules. It's in the Krautrock/Embryo bag for sure.

[DobermanBoston]

Very fond of Waldron - nice and understated.

This one is a dream. It also has my favourite Charlie Rouse playing:

I saw Mal Waldron with Steve Lacy not long before his death in Brecon. Magical concert.

You were reading my mind on Seagulls.... What a marvelous record!

[Head Man]

Has anyone here heard Waldron's Spanish Bitch? I'd really like to hear that session.

Certainly one of the finest of the 70s trio dates. I also like Number Nineteen.

Yes, I've been playing this again today.....it's VERY good.

I understand that it was recorded by Manfred Eicher for release on ECM but for some reason it never happened and eventually came out on the Japanese label Globe. Anyone know the story behind this?

[robertoart]

So did Iverson mention this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCUJxsrl0x4&list=ALBTKoXRg38BBr86wGETZkjo8ngKfgh7UP

[clifford_thornton]

Has anyone here heard Waldron's Spanish Bitch? I'd really like to hear that session.

Certainly one of the finest of the 70s trio dates. I also like Number Nineteen.

Yes, I've been playing this again today.....it's VERY good.

I understand that it was recorded by Manfred Eicher for release on ECM but for some reason it never happened and eventually came out on the Japanese label Globe. Anyone know the story behind this?

Good question.

I assume it was a licensing thing; Globe had several Mal Waldron titles in their catalog including The Call (Japo) and All Alone (GTA Italy). The catalog numbers on these titles align with Japanese Victor LPs and I believe the two were related.

Most Japanese ECMs I've encountered are on Trio/Kenwood and from a few years later.

[robertoart]

This link works. Another fine expose!

http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/on-mal-waldron.html

"I love the cover photo almost as much as the music. Waldron was extremely photogenic: His great look undoubtedly helped him sustain a viable career playing recondite music. Everyone interested in marketing uncompromising jazz should check out a vinyl edition of What it Is. It’s obviously badass avant-garde black music that you must buy immediately".