With: Mal Waldron (piano)
Record date: from 1995 to 1999
This record really is something. It’s Mal’s last record that was recorded in his beloved Japan. It was his last solo recording. His last effort for 3361*Black. And his last record of another fruitful decade: the 1990’s. As a 30 year old from the Netherlands all that jazz from back in the day tend to feel so far away. But these records were recorded while I was probably playing somewhere out in the yard. And Mal was living just 300 kilometers from my house. He performed even closer. If I knew that back in those days… If I could only turn back time.
One could say this is more of the same stuff as Maturity number 5. To some extend it is. But where that record was pleasant but nothing shocking, this is a little boring. While it contains a pretty interesting set of jazz standards. Mal unfortunately fails to make something interesting out of them. And less than on the last Maturity disc there are creative or inspired moments. It really just sounds like Mal plays a set of standards in a very standard kind of way. Perhaps he was tired or just did not had his day. He was definitely not at his end as an artist for his last three records before his death were superb.
Anyway, one could live without this record. This really is a for completists only and for that kind of stuff it’s rare and probably a little too expensive.
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