With: Nicolas Simion (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet), Mal Waldron (piano)
Record date: June, 1998
This is Mal's last recording with the highly talented Romanian saxophonist Nicolas Simion. This time it was not recorded for TUTU or perhaps it was never released. The Romanian label 7 Dreams released it in 2014 which makes it the last Waldron release on cd. It's a live set that was recorded in Zürich, Switzerland with a fantastic selection of compositions. There's a Waldron classic like 'Seagulls of Kristiansand', nice interpretations of Monk theme's, a beautiful version of 'Good By Pork Pie Hat', a remake of a classical piece by Brahms and a funky but no fusion version of Miles Davis' 'Jean Pierre'.
The Monk tunes work out really well. Mal's thoughtful and detailed playing in the background with his excellent yet pretty loose timing and Simion's muscled tone with endless loops of alternating notes floating on it. Mal's variation on a theme from Brahm's 3rd symphony is also excellent. It has this sad feeling over it that is interpreted in a very gentle way by Mal. Don't know how this is felt by people that like to listen to classical music. Perhaps it's blasphemy but I have a feeling that Mal's playing of classical music is pretty sincere. I like it anyway. 'Mood for Eric' is probably the most free and out there effort from the concert. Simion sticks to bass clarinet here paying a tribute to the great reed player who died so young. Interesting to here how Mal is still capable of leaving more tradtional jazz patterns behind. Mal really is a very bluesy player but has no difficulty at all switching to other forms of melody.
There's also some more space for moments of beauty. 'My Duchess' is almost getting a little too sweet but bent into a more sincere emotional mood. 'Seagulls' gets a nice treatment with Simion on soprano saxophone. His soloing is excellent but it's also Mal's beautful floating piano playing in the background that is impressive. His solo statement on it is just stunning. Playing mostly with repetitive ideas and silence he says more than a thousand words. The closing funky tune 'Jean Pierre' which Mal would play more than only this time is very refreshing.
Being released on a small Romanian label, with a reed player that is not very well known: these kind of records are very much overlooked. Unfortunate as it's not really stimulating for releasing any new music. This record is very much worth having and Simion deserves wider recognition anyway. One should be able to find a copy somewhere on Discogs or similar websites. Recommended stuff!
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