Mal Waldron (3)

MAL WALDRON - IN RETROSPECT (1982)

1.All Alone

2.Oleo

3.Blue monk

4.I Can't Get Started

5.Straight No Chaser

Mal Waldron is accompanied by a trio of Japanese players for this fine album, recorded in Japan in 1982. As the title suggests, it's a look back, celebrating one of Waldron's key influences, Thelonious Monk.
"Blue Monk" is given a relaxed and regal treatment, as Waldron's bedrock chording supports the higher register melody played in tandem on piano and sax. The set as a whole has a bluesy feel to it, with "I Can't Get Started" gliding along as gracefully as a solitary ice skater in a light snowfall. Waldron's varied discography has found him recording for numerous labels, especially in the '70s and '80s, and this date didn't find a U.S. release until eight years after it was recorded; however, it's well worth adding to any Waldron collection.

 

MAL WALDRON - BREAKING NEW GROUND (1987)

 

A1.Dans La Cusine D'Alibi

A2.Suicide Is Painless

A3.After The Love Is Gone

A4.Beat It

B1.You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
B2.Gymnopdie 2

B3.Everything Must Change

B4.Thy Freedom Come

Mal Waldron's Breaking New Ground is an abrupt departure for the pianist. Normally focusing on his own compositions, these 1983 trio sessions with Reggie Workman and Ed Blackwell find him mining current pop songs, including a novel approach to "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," and a rather tedious rendition of "Beat It." The moody setting of "Everything Must Change" benefits from Waldron's typically dark chords, while French Impressionist Erik Satie's "Gympnopedie #2" is initially interpreted as a very deliberate solo, with Workman gradually working in some sporadic fills. Johnny Mandel's "Suicide Is Painless" (also known as "Theme from M*A*S*H") was a favorite of pianist Bill Evans, but Waldron opts to approach this darkly comic ballad as an intense post-bop cooker instead. The leader's sole original is the loping opener "Dans La Cuisine d'Alibi," which ends up sounding like a closing theme from a detective film. This CD may startle Waldron's fans a bit, but it proves that he was open to new ideas. by Ken Dryden

JUDY NIEMACK & MAL WALDRON - MINGUS, MONK & MAL

Release Date: 05/1994
Label / Distributor: Freelance

1.A Time For Duke
2.Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love
3.You Know Who (I Mean You)
4.The Seagulls Of Kristiansund
5.Strollin' (Nostalgia In Times Square)
6.Soul Eyes
7.Suddenly (In Walked Bud)
8.Eclipse