(1983) Plays Eric Satie ****

 

With: Mal Waldron (piano), Reggie Workman (bass), Ed Blackwell (drums)
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!

(1983) Breaking New Ground ****

 

With: Mal Waldron (piano), Reggie Workman (bass), Ed Blackwell (drums)
Record date: June 28 & 29, 1983

In 1983, Mal formed a trio that was to record 3 albums in a year. But part from these trio records, of course both Workman as Blackwell would play on far more sessions with Mal in different settings. For instance they formed the rhythm section on the famous Village Vanguard tapes with Woody Shaw and Charlie Rouse. Their first trio record was recorded in New York, but put out in Japan only at first (there is some confusion about this, but as David Baker was the engineer, New York makes more sense and so was it credited on it’s initial release. ‘Breaking New Ground’ is exactly what the title says: Mal is actually breaking new ground again. This time he does not only explore modal jazz and bop but also classical music and for the first time since ‘Eleneor Rigby’ in 1969: pop music. The results are a bit mixed and that makes this record pretty hard to judge. It contains some of Mal’s finest work but some of the experiments are less successful.

This trio was a lust for the ears. Really: both Workman and Blackwell are of course top notch jazz musicians and are both among my favorites. But their style really fits in well with Mal’s. Both are able, just like Mal, to play both inside as outside. All three of them are percussive players, even Workman with his hard swinging bass. And all three of them are players that are really driving on the vibe by other players, focused on what others are doing. The results are pretty great.

The starting waltz is a beautiful warming up for what is up to come. The version of Suicide Is Painless is the best and most creative I have ever heard. From the quite relaxed theme song it was it is transformed in a hard grooving and swinging song with plenty of space for all three to explore. It starts of pretty sweet but turns bad within seconds. Mal’s left hand almost pushes trough the keys causing heavy droning effects. Workman plays is ass of hitting every spot and Blackwell is the solid background player that is doing all kinds of things yet keeping control. Workman’s solo is classic Workman with a deep and dark twist. Using his bow, jamming on his bass like a guitar to give it a dark but funky feeling with Mal subtly playing the repeating chords in the background.

The remakes of the pop tunes are pretty daring of course and it speaks for Mal that he was so open minded. But they are not a very big success. Earth Wind and Fire’s ‘After the Love Has Gone’ really sounds in parts like a cocktail pianist playing soul classics on a piano. When Mal starts soloing it get’s a little better but still: one begs for the original as that sound really suits better. ‘Beat It’ is more like a small break in the album but a pretty unnecessary one and with ‘You Are The Sunshine of My Life’ one has too say: this is just not Mal’s kinda thing. Or perhaps not the right jazzy remake. Stevie’s version is preferably anyway. Definitely not bad music but it just doesn’t really work out.

Satie’s Gymnopedie #2 is a completely different story. Boy does that work out well. Of course Mal was already influenced by the great French composer and his minimalistic approach is a similarity to that of Mal. And it feels very natural to Mal. His gentle touch is perfect for this tune. But what is even more beautiful is to hear Workman’s deep bass far in the background. His soloing is again of great beauty. Clearly respecting Satie’s music his approach is also minimalistic. The guys probably felt this success as well because they recorded a full Satie tribute at the end of the year in December.

And then there’s ‘Everything Must Change’ where the magic works a little better. There’s some more interaction but mostly: it’s sounds all a bit more natural. The music has a melancholy over it that goes well with Mal’s sad playing. Again there is some beautiful sensitive bass playing by Reggie Workman and Mal hit’s all the right notes. And the closing songs is more of a free effort with some less structure and more outside playing. The contrast with ‘After The Love Has Gone’ could not be bigger. Of course both Workman and Blackwell feel very much at ease here. Nice closing song of a very mixed record.

‘Breaking New Ground’ is widely available in different versions. It was originally released on Baystate Japan. Especially the Eastwind reissues are pretty easy to obtain for a low price. Some of them have a white cover. Eastwind did not put out the most beatiful reissues. Though it’s okay sound wise, the packaging is very, very basic. Should you get it? I think so. Of course there are some less successful compositions but they are interesting also for Mal did not play a lot of pop tunes. But it’s songs like MASH and the Satie composition that are really making it worth it.

(1982) In Retrospect **

 

With: Akira Miyazawa (tenor saxophone, flute), Mal Waldron (piano), Isao Suzuki (bass), Hironobu Fuzisawa (drums)
Record date: April 23, 1982

Mal did not bring a band to Japan in 1982 so the records he made there were with Japanese musicians. Isao Suzuki was an old companion of Mal playing excellent bass parts on the great Reminiscent Suite. Both the well recorded Miyazawa as the lesser known Fuzisawa were mostly active in the Japanese jazz scene. Part from the opening ‘All Alone’ this is a standard only album. But standards could be played in a very interesting way. Unfortunately that is not really the case here.

The opening with Mal’s beautiful ‘All Alone’ is probably the best of the record. Miyazawa’s solo is thoughtful and beautiful and I dig it, even though I am not a very big flute fan. With ‘Oleo’ comes the boredom unfortunately… Really what the hell is Miyazawa doing? It’s really playing blues scale after blues scale. The predictability of his solo’s throughout the album is pretty annoying. He really sounds like a saxophonist who has just picked up the horn and practices with scales and ladders. The paths on this album have been walked on so many times. Standards could be made exciting but here they are not. One could play standards in a boring way but still impress with great technical abilities or a big personality. This album lacks both of them. Suzuki sounds uninspired here too and Mal just plays his part, nothing more and nothing less. And that goes for the whole band. They just play, play and play. But it does not really lead anywhere nor does it mean anything. The best parts in the music are the more slow pieces like ‘All Alone’ and ‘I Can’t Get Started’ where Miyazawa sounds bit better in place.

‘In Retrospect’ is very, very widely available record on both vinyl and cd. I’ve got the very cheap version on the American ‘Four Star’ label. Not only cheap in money but also in packaging, it almost looks like a cd-r. Always listen for yourself but if you ask me: this is a Mal record you might wanna skip. It really sounds like a pretty boring jam session.