(1972) Mal Waldron/Terumasa Hino - Reminicent Suite *****

 

With: Terumasa Hino (trumpet), Takao Uematsu (tenor saxophone), Mal Waldron (piano), Isao Suzuki (bass), Motohiko Hino (drums), Yuhji Imamura (percussion)
Record date: August 14, 1972

Ah there it is: my one and only FAVORITE Mal Waldron record. And as a huge Waldron fan, that says a lot. If I had the possibility to just save one record from my burning house, it was this one. Not only for its rarity but mostly because i’ts so freakin’ good.

For ‘The Reminicent Suite’ Mal gathered 5 local musicians to perform with him. Some are more known like Terumasa of course but the others are mostly well known in Japan itself but not outside of it. Every single one of them has surprised me with their ability to keep up with Mal. They all sound talented and it’s a pity they never broke trough outside of Japan.

The first suite on side A start with deep droning groove played simultaneously on piano and bass. When the rest of the band starts to play the music gets more intense by the minute. The first soloist is Terumasa Hino who almost play his lungs trough his horn. But every time he almost loses it he grips it back again and rocks it's completely. Next in line is the for me unknown Uematsu who truly surprises me with his sound. He’s daring, building up tension, play both inside and outside but still sound very accessible. He also sounds pretty unique, not like a false copycat trying to imitate an American jazz saxophonist. In the meanwhile Suzuki is all over the place using every single fret of his bass pushing the band to it’s limits. Also shining is Terumasa’s younger brother on drums: Motohiko. A very solid and tight drummer who is constantly responding to what is going on. After the return of the catchy starting theme Terumasa is suddenly alone. He uses electric effects on his trumpet to make the desolate feeling even stronger. The band returns quite soon but this time with soft and gentle notes that resemble a completely different atmosphere. It’s a very sad and dark melody, reminding of Mal’s ‘All Alone’ composition. Tear jerking beautiful. Hino’s solo is more subdued and slow but still pretty loud. Uematsu strikes me a second time as a great saxophone player with a unique sound and his own identity. Again some great soloing by him. One more chorus by the whole band ends side A and leaves me blown away every time I have heard it.

On side B there is another suite: Black Forrest. It starts with some percussion sounds that remind more of the ambient influences in Don Cherry’s music (including the flute playing). It doesn’t take very long before the main theme enters. It’s a modal composition with a funky feel. The first theme has a bop influence in it too, something that was far away on side A. Then a dialogue starts between Hino and the percussionist. Hino’s solo is again of great intensity and very loud: sometimes playing changes but also experimenting with different blowing techniques and unique sounds. On ‘Black Forrest’ Mal also has some more opportunity to stretch out. His sound fits without a problem on the modal backings by the great rhythm section. Still his role is pretty modest on the whole record. Perhaps that is the only downside of it.

What makes this such a great record are the individual talents but also the enormous interplay between them. The huge varieties in tempo, theme’s and atmosphere. But also the way the band really plays on the edge and sometimes over it without losing a fraction of control. The music is so free, yet so structured. You could hear new things in every listen.

Buying options are sparse unfortunately. Like most of the Victor records by Mal, this was never reissued on cd. A missed opportunity: I am definitely not the only enthusiast of this record, it’s in pretty high demand on the internet. That makes the price quite high unfortunately: I paid 80 euros for my example. Yet if you are a real Mal fan and a music collector it’s worth every penny. There’s also some great news for everybody with a Spotify account: there’s a remastered version on it! One has to search a little as the title is in Japanese but is catalogued under Waldron’s name. A great opportunity to hear this masterpiece. Then after listening to it: write Mosaic a letter they should do a Mal Waldron 'Victor' box!