Record date: April 4 and 8, 1992 and October 10 and 11, 1994
Just like ‘Mal, Verve, Black & Blue’ this was recorded live at the Satiricon jazz club in Essen, Germany. It’s the same quartet with Nicolas Simion on tenor saxophone. Part of it was recorded in 1992 during the Jim Pepper Memorial tour. Pepper died that year in a Portland hospital from Lymphoma. He was a dedicated friend to Waldron and played on several tours and records with him. Nicolas Simion replaced him and he was definitely a worthy successor to the ‘Flying Eagle’.
Like the previous record this is some highly exciting club music. It’s not neccserialy revolutionary in sound or techniques. But it’s a showcase by 4 highly talented musicians who are able to communicate almost thelapatically with each other. It’s the living evidence that Mal was still going strong, listening to other musicians. The opening ‘What Will Ever Be Again’ is actually ‘What it Is’ which is one of Mal’s most significant compositions. It has that famous tension/release moment that makes his music so exciting. And those nice dissonant notes at the end of every sentence. Clifford Jordan kicked ass on it, so did Lacy and Simion isn’t much worse. He really blows away things with his powerful soloing. And listen to the steaming hard bopping music on ‘Mal-Factor’ with Jones’ groovy poly-rhythmic cymbal hitting in the background, Schuller’s hard driving bass playing and a hard swinging Mal. The music is fiery, energetic and exciting in every moment. Simion as always is a pleasure to listen to. He has great technical skills, lot’s of emotional depth in his playing but also a very pleasant tone. But the absolute highlight of the album is the closing ‘Funny Glasses’ which reminds some of the classic ‘Ticket to Tokyo’. It’s an incredibly fast and intense composition with every band member playing at maximum capacity. Really, just listen to it.
There’s also some nice ballads on this live session. The first is ‘You Don’t Know What Jazz is’. On ‘Between the Lines’ there’s some hinting to Thelonious Monk’s playing in Mal’s solo’s. And of course there’s ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’, which was one of the favorite tunes of Jim Pepper. It starts with a very sincere unaccompanied solo by Simion. Then the rest of the band enters with a gentle approach without sounding to sweet.
Whats probably the most nice thing about these Tutu discs is the enormous amount of solo space for Mal. And he really, rocks every single second of his playing. He’s the haunting, bluesy, repetitive, dark vamping piano God we all know. And his playing still sounds fresh. Though the basic principles of his style remained the same, Mal changes constantly since the 1970’s. He was always open to new ideas and thoughts and was inspired by the company with which he played.
This was one of the last official Waldron releases with new material. It was released in 2007 by the Tutu label. Like all of their Mal Waldron releases: it’s a no brainer, buy with confidence. And of all those great sessions, this one is among my favorites. 70+ minutes of intense Mal Waldron live music, great liner notes and beautiful photography. Highly recommended.
Like the previous record this is some highly exciting club music. It’s not neccserialy revolutionary in sound or techniques. But it’s a showcase by 4 highly talented musicians who are able to communicate almost thelapatically with each other. It’s the living evidence that Mal was still going strong, listening to other musicians. The opening ‘What Will Ever Be Again’ is actually ‘What it Is’ which is one of Mal’s most significant compositions. It has that famous tension/release moment that makes his music so exciting. And those nice dissonant notes at the end of every sentence. Clifford Jordan kicked ass on it, so did Lacy and Simion isn’t much worse. He really blows away things with his powerful soloing. And listen to the steaming hard bopping music on ‘Mal-Factor’ with Jones’ groovy poly-rhythmic cymbal hitting in the background, Schuller’s hard driving bass playing and a hard swinging Mal. The music is fiery, energetic and exciting in every moment. Simion as always is a pleasure to listen to. He has great technical skills, lot’s of emotional depth in his playing but also a very pleasant tone. But the absolute highlight of the album is the closing ‘Funny Glasses’ which reminds some of the classic ‘Ticket to Tokyo’. It’s an incredibly fast and intense composition with every band member playing at maximum capacity. Really, just listen to it.
There’s also some nice ballads on this live session. The first is ‘You Don’t Know What Jazz is’. On ‘Between the Lines’ there’s some hinting to Thelonious Monk’s playing in Mal’s solo’s. And of course there’s ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’, which was one of the favorite tunes of Jim Pepper. It starts with a very sincere unaccompanied solo by Simion. Then the rest of the band enters with a gentle approach without sounding to sweet.
Whats probably the most nice thing about these Tutu discs is the enormous amount of solo space for Mal. And he really, rocks every single second of his playing. He’s the haunting, bluesy, repetitive, dark vamping piano God we all know. And his playing still sounds fresh. Though the basic principles of his style remained the same, Mal changes constantly since the 1970’s. He was always open to new ideas and thoughts and was inspired by the company with which he played.
This was one of the last official Waldron releases with new material. It was released in 2007 by the Tutu label. Like all of their Mal Waldron releases: it’s a no brainer, buy with confidence. And of all those great sessions, this one is among my favorites. 70+ minutes of intense Mal Waldron live music, great liner notes and beautiful photography. Highly recommended.
One of my favorite Mal Waldron records. I've said to myself there's something about his playing on this one that sounds more progressive than many of his records, and it comes across as almost sounding electric at times. It is certainly electrifying at any rate.
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