(1966) All Alone ****

 

With: Mal Waldron (solo piano)
Record Date: March 1, 1966

So this is it: Mal’s first recording after the infamous mental breakdown. According to jazzdisco.org, Nuits de la Negritude was recorded in 1964, no exact date known. So that might have been the first one, but the information on that LP clearly state it was recorded in 1963 and Mal does sound like the old Mal known for the works on Prestige and New Jazz. But still, that very album has one very important link with this 1966 album: the title song ‘All Alone’, one of Mal’s better known compositions and one of his most emotional statements, was already on that record under the name ‘Quiet Temples’. It was used for the French movie: Trois Chambres a Manhattan. Mal has composed and recorded more music for movies, like Dizzy’s ‘The Cool World’ and under his own name: ‘Sweet Love, Bitter’.

After his mental breakdown, Mal left the USA for Europe. Like many other African-American musicians, he was disillusioned by the lack of respect and pay he got in his homeland. And like so many other American jazz artists, Europe was like the promised land. He settled in Bologna, Italy for a while before moving to Munich, Germany permanently. 1966 was the year he was living in Bologna and recorded multiple albums in that country. He also made a European tour with Yugoslavian trumpeter Dusko Goykovich and singer Nada Jovic.

This very first record was recorded in Milano, Italy. It’s an important recording, not only for the fact that it was his first after his breakdown, but also because there’s a lot to hear that came back in the later Mal Waldron. Mal relearned his skills by listening to his own old records but the Mal you hear right here, is different. He starts using the repetitive tones, the dark and moody left hand is already hearable in some of the songs and so is that dark energy his music has. The opener ‘All Alone’ is almost like a classical composition. It’s one of his most beautiful compositions and fortunately he recorded it more than only this time. The music is deeply emotional and lyrical. It does not contain a lot of improvisation and makes a beautiful opener. Songs like Due Torri, A View of S. Luca and Three for Cicci are inspired on his stay in Bologna. Mal clearly was inspired by some of the more known jazz compositions: Blue Summer smells a bit like Miles’ All Blues and the intro of If You Think I’m Licked reminds one of Brubeck’s Take Five. Yet this is something very different. This composition reminds of later recordings by him like Blood & Guts that also has that hunted en brooding feeling.

What makes this record also special, and what makes Mal special as well: he does not sound like any other jazz pianist. Sure there’s a hint of Monk and Powell, some of the lyricism one finds with the music of Debussy of Satie but Mal was one very unique pianist. He already is, back in 1966. This solo record exposes that unique character of his work. Mal is not a pianist who tries to play too many notes, he doesn’t surprise you with outstanding technique but with how simplicity still manage to make a very lasting impression. But also, this was clearly a try out for Mal. Part from ‘All Alone’ and ‘Waltz of the Oblivious’ (on Sweet Love, Bitter as Della’s Dream) he never recorded these compositions again.

The original of the album, from Italy on GTA, is pretty rare and expensive. The following Japanese issues on Globe are better available. Don’t know how those sound, but mostly you could buy records from Japan from these days with confidence. I have got the 1997 issue on cd myself. That one sounds pretty good.