Record date: December 8, 1983
In 1983, Waldron toured Japan with his band of that time: the awesome trio with Workman and Blackwell. Mal is a classicaly schooled pianist with a master in composition. In his young years he had to play the works by Chopin, Beethoven and Mozart hundreds of times. He did not dislike it but his heart was more in jazz anyway. Yet, classical music and some composers influenced him. The great modern French composer Erik Satie was definitely one of them. Mal is a bit like the Satie of jazz. Just like Mal, Satie was really a musician of the ‘less is more’ philosophy. No bombastic orchestra’s or nervous staccato runs but beautiful almost meditative compositions. Repetitive patterns were also a part of his style.
As I already stated in the ‘Breaking New Ground’ review, Mal’s version of Satie’s second Gymnopedie was a success. And the guys probably felt that way also so they decided a full album with Satie tributes and compositions. It lead to a very accessible and highly enjoyable album of music. It’s also surprising to hear how the music suits both Workman and Blackwell. Both pretty loud players from the free jazz scene, they manage these subtle compositions more than fine. And they do not get boring for one second.
Now fucking around with classical music and give it a jazzy vibe is a pretty risky business. Perhaps purists would still be offended but I think the openminded Satie would like it. It’s fascinating to hear how well Satie’s music lends it self to be jazzified without sounding silly. Workman could really swing his arse of in a composition like Premiere Pensee Rose + Croix. The same goes for Blackwell who plays in a really supportive kind of way without being boring or predictable. Big highlight of the album is definitely Gymnopedie No.1 which is my favorite Satie composition anyway. It’s treated with the respect it really deserves. Mal plays in a beautiful airy style giving it exactly the sound and feel it needs.
This is a Japan only release which makes it always a bit more difficult to obtain but it is far from impossible. There are multiple cd releases. I have the original LP version which sounds absolutely great. They fortunately put Workman pretty forward in the mix. This is definitely not Mal’s most innovative or shocking album but it is really, really nice to listen to. If you’re a true Mal fan: get it!
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