(1988) Tom Mega - Backyards of Pleasure *

 

Record date: April 6, 1988

There's not a lot of information to find about Tom Mega. Apparently he had been a bit of a naughty boy using lots of dope and being locked up in prison in the 1970's. He's a German singer who recorded several albums before he passed away in the year 2000. I was in doubt if I was going to review this record for this music is just really not my cup of tea. But hey: if one is about to review ALL of Mal's work post 1964, one cannot skip this one of course. I decided to stay as neutral as I could be, listening with open ears and an open mind. But this stuff is just going too far for me and Mal is nothing but a session musician anyway here.

What to expect? Expect heavy outdated '80's synths and keyboards and a ditto outdated sound. The music is rock oriented with a pretty obvious pop twist. Tom Mega is probably a bit influenced by Bowie and Tom Waits but doesn't reach those levels by far. He has a very thick and bit laughable German accent. None of the session musicians sound challenging or inspired anywhere and there space is very limited. So is Mal. I don't why he decided to collaborate for this recording. Was he openminded, in need of money or did he had contractual obligations with ITM? I don't know and just wish to forget this whole record. If you want to complete your Mal Waldron collection like I did: it's cheap and available. And so does it sound.

(1966) Nada Jovic & Dusko Goykovich Quintet - Take Me In Your Arms *

With: Nada Jovic (vocals), Dusko Goykovich (trumpet), Eddie Busnello (alto saxophone), Mal Waldron (piano), Peter Trunk (bass), Cees See (drums)
Record date: September, 1966

Singer, performer and dancer Nada Jovic was born in Belgrade in the 1930’s. After receiving a scholarship she went to Vienna where she became an allround performer. She could dance and sing. In the 1950’s she moved again, this time to Canada where she supposedly still lives. Nada wrote the music in New York City and went to Cologne to record it. When Mal and Goykovich lived in Cologne they teamed up regularly together and played gigs everywhere in the city. They were a pretty logical choice for Jovic to record with.

This music is….. just plain awful. It really sounds like the music from some burlesque show in the 1930’s for the enjoyment of some horny army men but it has not a lot to do with music in a creative sense. It’s mostly suited for in a theater or cabaret and there is zero space for any of the musicians to create something interesting. Even Goykovich’s arrangements sound old fashioned and pretty lame. Jovic’ voice then… well she could hold a note let’s say that. But it does not sound very nice. There is no feeling, timbre or any creativity. Only a pretty thick accent. Fortunately with only 23 minutes of playing time all goes by pretty fast. And that really is for the better.

British label Cosmic Sounds released this posthumously. In the liner notes they state that Jovic had recorded quite some music but ‘for some strange reason’ nothing of it was ever released. Well, I think I know why. This is a record you could easily skip without missing a thing.

 

(1988) Tiziana Simona/Mal Waldron - Flakes *

 

With: Tiziana Simona (vocals), Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone), Enrico Rava (flugelhorn), Giulio Visibelli (alto flute)
Record date: August and September, 1988

There it is, another vocal album. This time with quite a line-up. Next to Waldron there’s Steve Lacy and Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava. And yes it was a challenge for me again to listen to it.

Tiziana Simona could sing a little bit, though her voice is not something very special. The starting Flakes and Little One are really turning me off instantly. She sings a little like Irene Aebi… Very different voice but that same theatrical voice which makes you almost think you’re at some cabaret. The thick accent almost makes me laugh, but not in a good way. She goes off key a few time also on this record. Rava is nowhere to be found, Lacy only plays a small bit. Visibeli takes a bigger role but doesn’t really do something special. Mal’s role is really mainly somewhere in the background with only a little bit of space to solo. Bo If Cinese, with Tiziana singing in her native tongue is a bit better. But Flowers for Albert is really making me nauseous again. I could hardly take it serious. Really big highlight of the whole album is Lacy’s intimate dueling with Mal on the beautiful ‘Left Alone’. Mal played that song plenty of times but as far as I know this is the only one with Lacy on soprano saxophone. Very unfortunate, but at 3:28 Simona starts singing and the magic is gone.

If you’re interested, you should definitely buy the original ITM issue. The ‘reissue’ on Phantom Sound and Vision is incomplete and shares space with another session with Kenny Wheeler and without Mal. Plus: it’s a CD-R. Big shame on them for selling it as a regular cd. For lovers of Lacy and Rava: their role on this album is very, very limited. Be warned.

(1983) Sumiko Yoseyama/Mal Waldron - With Mal (Sumiko Yoseyama Meets Mal Waldron) *

 

With: Sumiko Yoseyama (vocals), Mal Waldron (piano), Kunimitsu Inaba (bass), Motohiko Hino (drums)
Record date: December 21, 22 and 28, 1983

Mal really was fond of female singers. Of course his affiliation with Billy Holiday is the thing some people know him best for. And his calm, dark tones really blend well with most female voices. Yet between 1964 and and 1983 he only recorded once with a singer: with Kimiko Kasai for Victor Japan. In 1983 he recorded with another Japanese singer: Sumiko Yoseyama. And from this session, he would record lots of times with female vocalists: Italian singers, Japanese singers and American singers. As I mentioned in my Kasai review, I am really not a big fan of vocal jazz. The only ones I really, really enjoy are Lady Day and Ella. So please bear that in mind while reading these reviews.

This session…. oh boy I really, really dislike it. Not to offend anyone, especially not Sumiko, but I really think she’s much of a singer. She has a very flat voice, not vibrato whatsoever and not capable to improvise with it. It sounds a bit cold and sometimes even out of tune. But she also isn’t really speaking the English language very well. Where Kasai sounds pretty fluent, Sumiko has a very thick Japanese accent which makes a lot of sentences pretty hard to understand. And a bit laughable at times. Then there’s the band. Mal really is nothing more than an accompanying pianist with zero space to improvise or stretch out. Same goes for the rest of the band: they could probably play very well but can’t show off anywhere. Now Jeanne Lee was a singer who could really give that space. And there’s the songs with strings…. which makes it even worse. Not much of a strings fan anyway but I know plenty of examples where it actually adds something. Here: it really does not and they sound as chords coming from a keyboard. Yuk.

As I am not so fond of vocals anyway one should always check out for themselves of course. Plenty of samples to be found on the internet. Not cheap to buy so be sure this is really you’re thing. I’ve got the cd version which is fine.