(1969) Free at Last ****1/2

 

With: Mal Waldron (piano), Isla Eckinger (bass), Clarence Becton (drums)
Record date: 25 November, 1969

Yeah, there it is! Mal’s first real classic recording, probably since his release of ‘The Quest’. I don’t know if sales were ever big enough to mark a Waldron album as a classic, but ‘Free at Last’ is definitely one of the better known records he made. It’s also the first since 1963 on a major label. But that major label, ECM, was just starting up in that year 1969. Free At Last was in fact the first release by the label in 1970. Mal never recorded for the label again after this one record. Although 'Spanish Bitch' was probably meant to be released on it.

It’s a great chance to hear the transition he made in great audio quality, playing with two not very well known but highly talented musicians. And that was something Mal has done quite a few times: he always surrounds himself with gifted musicians, sometimes well known but also quite a lot of time more obscure. Swiss born bassist Isla Eckinger has played with tons of musicians and made multiple appearances next to Waldron: both in the studio as in live gigs. He’s a bassist that fits perfectly with Mal’s rhythmic and percussive playing, dancing around his ideas, just like Jimmy Woode and Reggie Workman were able too. Eckinger gets plenty of space to show his skills on this record and he definitely deserves that space. Becton is a drummer who has appeared next to free jazz players like Burton Greene and Michael White, but also played more in the tradition with Benny Bailey and Dusko Goykovich. As Free At Last is also balancing between bop and the more free music he fits in perfectly, creating a solid base for this highly rhythmic music.

Opener ‘Rat Now’ is a classic Mal Waldron composition with it’s hard touch in the lower registers and the reaction with the right hand on that theme. It’s clear that Mal was inspired by the free jazz movement hearing tracks like these but this music is still quite structured. As Mal states himself in the liner notes: ‘free jazz to me does not mean anarchy or disorganized sound. In my vocabulary disorganized sound still means noise’. And that is perhaps what makes Mal such a great musician. He was able to look further, be innovative, create a whole new sound without losing himself in the urge to be innovative. The music he recorded on this record is truly a trademark for his style. It’s the first record where you could hear some of his definitive sound, although his development was still to continue.

Again, Mal plays mostly his own typical compositions. The uptempo, highly percussive Rat Now and Rock My Soul could be considered Mal classics although unfortunately most of these songs never appeared again on his records. This time there’s also a jazz standard: ‘Willow Weep for Me’ which is treated with warmth and has a very smooth feel overall. The album is well balanced trough-out with more tensed, up-tempo songs and beautiful ballads. And as with all of Mal’s music: this is pure emotional music, right from the heart, feeling only. This is Mal at his very best.

ECM is known for a certain sound, some like it and some don’t. I personally mostly appreciate it. But that typical ECM sound in not really yet hearable here on this album. As with most ECM albums, the sound quality is excellent. I own the Japanese SHM release of 2017 which is terrific. But this album has been reissued with bonus tracks on vinyl in 2019. The bonus tracks are definitely worth it to buy that reissue. If you don’t own this record yet, get it as soon as possible!