(1996) Roberto Ottaviano/Mal Waldron - Black Spirits Are Here Again ****

 

With: Roberto Ottaviano (soprano saxophone), Mal Waldron (piano)
Record date: January 28 & 29, 1996

From 1996 Mal became less productive in the studios. And yes he was getting older but he maintained an extensive and probably exhausting touring schedule. But were never signs of fatigue in his playing and his work remained interesting and fresh till the very last recordings he made. Most of his last recordings consist of small group recordings, preferably duets. On this occasion he teams up with Italian saxophone player Roberto Ottaviano who sticks to soprano saxophone for the whole record. The two men recorded before on the Femi Bellomo record, which I really did not like. Here, Ottaviano’s playing really matured and he became a pretty well known figure in the Italian jazz scene.

Ottaviano has a very, very nice way of playing the soprano. Very nice but not smooth in the sense of: a little to sweet. Nor is he an advanced or experimental player like Steve Lacy. The way he plays the soprano reminds mostly of a singer, like George Haslam did on his first record with Mal. And I have to say: I like it very much. I don’t know who had selected the compositions for this record but they fit like a glove to both men. The opening ‘Memories of You’ is incredibly beautiful and so are some of the other standards like the gently swinging ‘Come Sunday’. The way Ottaviano’s soprano dances on Mal’s sweet but deep chordings is very nice to hear. But there’s also enough interesting details in Ottaviano’s playing that keeps your attention with the music. The small ‘decorations’ around some of the notes or the sometimes humorous interplay with Mal: it’s all very thoughtful. And Mal’s playing really became different during this period. It became softer, gentler and perhaps even a little warmer for as far that was even possible. But it’s never boring: it sounds like something very definite and mature. With a deep layer of feeling, emotion and the blues. And part from all the laidback playing there’s also some creative stuff. Like uptempo ending of ‘A Night in Tunisia’ or the dazzling and tense version of ‘Lonnies Lament’ which really is one of my favorite Coltrane compositions. It contains a hypnotizing solo by Mal.

This is a very accessible record, suited best for a lazy Sunday morning or afternoon. A prime example of two experienced gentleman playing a set of standards in a warm yet refreshing way. It doesn’t contain the tension or excitement of the Waldron/Lacy duo’s but this is just music for a different kind of mood. Recorded for the Japanese DIW label in 1996, this is a cd only release. A nice digipack or even a small gatefold digipack. Plenty of copies for sale on Discogs for reasonable prices (20 euros for a Japanese cd is reasonable to me). And of course some lunatics like the infamous Kupiku asking 40 to 60 euros for it. Highly recommended stuff!

(1981) Mal Waldron/Don Cherry/Roswell Rudd/Steve Lacy/Charlie Rouse/Richard Davis/Ed Blackwell - Interpretations of Monk ***1/2

 

With: Don Cherry (trumpet), Roswell Rudd (trombone), Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone), Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone), Mal Waldron (piano), Richard Davis (bass), Ed Blackwell (drums)
Record date: November 1, 1981

Autumn 1981, Mal was back in the US for the second time that year. He was there to record his last engagement for Enja for some 30 years called 'What it Is' but also appeared on a Monk tribute concert. The concert was to be played all day long with a afternoon set and an evening set. It presented an all-star line-up with musicians who were all more or less affiliated with the piano grand master. Some by direct connection like Rouse and others trough the influence Monk had on them. In the afternoon the piano was to be played by the great Muhal Richard Abrams and Barry Harris. The evening program was filled in by Anthony Davis for the first set and Mal Waldron for the second. As this is a Mal blog I will only review his part but I could say for the rest of the music: it's worth every penny!

Mal's set starts with a solo version of  'Round Midnight. A modest tribute to one of his own big influences, Mal doesn't play one note too much. And though Mal was influenced by Monk he really is something completely different. Following his solo tribute are two duets with Lacy. Probably inspired and driven by the Dreher success they wanted to present their ideas to an American audience. There is some nice playing overall but it misses some of the chemistry there usually is between the two. I cannot exactly lay my finger on what is causing it but you should hear it for yourself. Closing up are three Monk classics played by the entire band of jazz superstars. Where Ben Riley was playing drums on the Anthony Davis set, Ed Blackwell plays them here. And it's nice to hear some of the work that was to come as both Rouse and Blackwell would return in Waldron's band. 'Friday the 15th' is the longest piece. It starts of with a nice and solid solo by Charlie Rouse followed by some great playing by Cherry. Nice to hear him duelling up with Blackwell introducing a slight Ornette Coleman feel here and there despite the different nature of the music. Cherry's playing has more in common with Monk than one might actually think. The dissonants, the off/after beat playing and the fast riddles of notes. He suites very good for a Monk tribute band. Roswell's muted trombone solo represents a lot of Monk too, playing around one or three notes for a while. 

The closing 2 tunes are two very Monkish themes. Rhythm a Ning swings very, very hard thanks to Davis' very tight bass playing and Blackwell's incredible polyrhytmic drum playing. Rouse is in prime form with one of his typical solo's that might have well could have been recorded with Monk himself. Epistrophy is the true highlight of the album with it's sudden speed changes, Richard Davis' hard bowing bass, Charlie Rouse's soloing on it and Lacy playing all kinds of patterns in the background.

The first release of this music was on the Japanese DIW label and contained all four sets. I own the Koch release that is split up in the Abrams/Harris set as vol.1 and the Davis/Waldorn set as vol.2. I only have vol.2. This is some great and interesting music but looking at the big names, one could expect a little more. This is not an album with revolutionary sounds or ideas. It's more of a jam session. A great, but not essential jam session. If you love Monk, you should check it out for sure.