(1967) Embryo - For Eva ****

 

With: Christian Burchard (vibes) Mal Waldron (piano on 3-5, 8-9), Dieter Gewissler (bass #1,2,5,6) Lothar Meid (bass #3,4,5) Reinhard Knieper (bass #8 & 9), Dieter Serfas (drums)
Record date: somewhere in 1967

This really was one of the most pleasant discoveries I made in my quest for collecting all of Mal Waldron’s records. To be honest: I really kept this one as one of my last purchases for I did not expected much of it. I mostly bought it to complete the collection. I was pretty wrong about it for there is some excellent music on this disc.

Mal’s affiliation with Embryo was a life long one and that came mostly trough his friendship with vibist Christian Burchard. Burchard already lived in Munich in 1966 and played with some of the American jazz residents who lived there or stayed there for a long time. The southern German city had a pretty lively jazz scene with residents like Pony Pointdexter, Carmell Jones, Benny Bailey and later of course: Mal Waldron. At one night Mal was playing at the Domicile club and Burchard joined in. From that moment they were to become livelong friends. I am not sure if the artist on the cover really should have been Embryo as Burchard states in the liner notes that the German krautrock group was formed later. But this definitely was it’s birth. As Burchard stated: ‘This is an example how we sounded before the Embryo project was founded’. The music is more jazz oriented and rock influences are nearly absent. Mal did not record a lot of stuff in 1967 but he sure was not inactive. He was already gigging all across Europe and mostly in Germany.

Mal doesn’t play on all of the songs. The first two compositions are without him but are both very interesting. ‘Sugar Lump’ is a very good tribute to one of jazz forgotten vibraphone wonders: Walt Dickerson. It breathes the same air as his music and his influence is evident on Burchard’s playing. The music has some kind of free atmosphere as both bassist Gewissler and drummer Serfas are moving away from more traditional jazz patterns. They sound pretty advanced to me and are surprisingly original in their sound. Burchard himself utilizes the given space in an excellent way interacting with both his band mates and not losing himself in a technical show off.

Unfortunately the sound quality of the Waldron selections is not as good as the first two songs. But this is a fascinating look into the music Mal made in those years. Just like his 1966 records you could hear he’s really trying to create his own sound experimenting with loops, repetition and percussive playing. He’s not yet the pianist he was to become in the years after but you could really hear those roots here. Also there’s a very first recording of his ‘Blood and Guts’ composition: it’s titled Anka’s Trance here. It’s the only track that does not really work out that well as it sounds there are some miscommunications in the group. The other tracks are excellent. Some have a more traditional jazz sound but it’s mostly a little more advanced than that. Mal listened a lot to what was going on at the American freejazz scéne at the time. And although his music never became that free, he was seriously influenced by it. He swings insanely hard on ‘Bud Study’, a composition that is very Waldronesque but has this Bud Powell feeling over it. He show’s his more sentimental side on ‘For Bob’ and revisits his classic ‘Fire Waltz’ for the first time.

Disconforme is one of those public domain labels. I really dislike them for they do not pay any royalties to the one’s who the music belong to. But also they push the regular labels out of business with their subpar but cheap products. As this disc was compiled by Christian Burchard himself (he also wrote the liner notes) I could live with it. The liner’s and photographs are very nice so it’s really worth having. The sound quality differs really by session. Some of them are surprisingly good but track 3,4 and 5 do not sound so good. But it’s definitely acceptable. I could imagine hardcore ‘Embryo’ lovers will not be impressed by the music presented here. But for those interested in Burchard’s more jazzy side, this is interesting stuff!

(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.

 

(1966) Dusko Goykovich - Swinging Macedonia ***1/2

 

With: Dusko Goykovich (trumpet, flugelhorn), Nathan Davis (flute, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone), Eddie Busnello (alto saxophone), Mal Waldron (piano), Peter Trunk (bass), Cees See (drums)
Record date: August 30 & 31, 1966

1966 was the year of Mal’s slow comeback to the jazz scéne in Europe. He recorded his first two albums as a leader, both in Italy before moving to Germany. In Germany he first lived in the city of Cologne before eventually settling in Munich for more than 20 years. In Cologne, Mal lived near the Yugoslavian trumpeter Dusko Goykovich and he gigged regularly with him. Goykovich was born in the town of Jajce which is located in current Bosnia Herzegovina. Those were the years of Tito, communism, the iron curtain and Yugoslavia’s no affiliation politics. There might have been a big barrier in Europe in those years but jazz really is an international language and there was a lively jazz scene in Yugoslavia.

For this album Dusko is not only accompanied by Waldron but also by the excellent and highly underrated multi reedist Nathan Davis (I love that guy). The other guys were all well established names in the European jazz scene all appearing on countless of European jazz cd’s. Peter Trunk was in Hans Koller’s band for a while and Cees See appeared more than once next to Waldron. They are all very solid players, although I find Busnello a little boring.

This is some very interesting music for the period it was recorded in, the combination of names in personnel but also the repertoire played. The Eastern European influence in pretty evident in some of the compositions and there’s a slight hint of some fine gipsy jazz here and there. The results are sometimes pretty successful. The opening Macedonia and also the Fertility dance sound exotic, creative and full of power. An excellent blend of different musical cultures. Also Mal’s percussive style fits in perfectly. ‘Saga Se Karame’ truly sounds amazing with a fantastic soprano solo by Davis. This was really some of the more advanced music with plenty of space for both See and Trunk to come out of their comfort zones. But on the more contemporary jazz compositions all the energy fades away and that is very unfortunate. Songs like ‘The Gypsy’ and ‘Old Fisherman’s Daughter’ or ‘Bem-Basha’ miss that creative spark and are really one out of a dozen of jazz records. No bad playing but just not as interesting as those more up tempo compositions with that Eastern feeling.

Dusko really is an excellent player with great technical skills. The influence by Miles is a little to big here and there (especially when he is playing the muted trumpet) but he has enough power to really make a statement. He also had fine compositional skills as most of these originals by him prove. Both Davis and Waldron are in excellent form but sounded better on their own records from those years. They mostly shine on the more original compositions where they have more space to show off their own creative forces. The rhythm section plays excellent but is mostly in the background.

This was originally released on Phillips, Columbia and Odeon. Those originals are worth quite some money. The Enja reissues are a better buying option. This record really has two faces: the compositions where the Eastern influences are more dominant are very interesting. The more contemporary jazz compositions are a little boring and feel like they are unnecessary breaks in mostly creative music.

(2002) Archie Shepp & Mal Waldron - Left Alone Revisited *****

With: Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, vocals), Mal Waldron (piano)
Record date: February 9 & 10, 2002

So there it is then: Mal’s last record. Still in Paris he teamed up with legendary saxophonist Archie Shepp for 9 songs that were all more or less affiliated with Lady Day. Mal was Billie’s last pianist and lots of people still remember him that way. He sometimes admitted he was getting a little tired of the endless questions about his time with her. In every interview the first question was always: so how was it working with Billy Holiday? Mal was indeed an excellent last pianist to her and he was also a personal friend (Billie is godmother to his daughter Mala). But as this whole blog proves: Mal has moved on since then and did lots of other interesting things.

Yet Lady Day always remained a special place in his heart. Her death devastated Mal as he always looked up a little bit to her. He saw her a bit as a mother figure and loved working with her. Later he stated that if Bilie would have stayed in Europe in 1958 she would probably still be alive. I do not know about that but he sure had a special bond with her. After her death he regularly revisited compositions he had written with or for her. One of Mal’s key compositions was written with Billie on an airplane. Mal wrote the music, Billie did the lyrics. That composition was ‘Left Alone’ which was also the title of his Bethlehem album with Jackie McLean. And it also gave it’s title to his very last album.

This date really remains one of my all time favorite records by Mal, if not one of my very favorite jazz records. The chemistry with Archie Shepp is immense. He had worked before with Mal, not on official records but on gigs and there are several bootlegs circulating. And of course the recording with Tchangodei which was an official one but is pretty rare. Shepp’s raw and bluesy lyricism fits so incredibly well with Mal’s deep emotional statements on the piano. It’s like they activate the most lyrical part in each other and this whole music breaths nothing more than pure feeling.

There are the playful almost humorous phrases on standards like ‘Nice Work If You Can Get It’ or the vocal part on ‘Blues for 52nd Street’. Shepp is of course no nightingale but his raw bluesy voice suits excellent here and sounds full of joy and feeling. There are the more laidback statements on ‘Easy Living’ and ‘When Your Lover Has Gone’ that shine from pure excitement and joy. Shepp’s playing is very, very bluesy. Almost in a dirty kinda way. His tone is thick, raw and warm all at the same time. And Mal’s playing is at ease but oh so thoughtful. He carefully weigh each notes and then just let them flow out of his hands. But really the highlight of the album and also of Mal’s career is the most beautiful version of his composition ‘Left Alone’ that was ever put on record. Shepp’s solo goes right trough your bones and hit you in the heart. The sound by this duo here has such a sad feeling, but is is one of absolute beauty, Mal’s solo strikes me the most. It has this very definitive sound, like he knew this would be one of his last statements on record. And also like he is at peace with the life he has lead. Some kind of last statement. It still gives me goose bumps.

Mal had recorded quite a lot of records for Enja but it had been quite a while since he last recorded directly for that label. Yet he remained always affiliated with it trough TUTU records of course. This record is widely avaible for low prices. It’s essential and definitive Mal. It’s also essential Shepp. These are some very great last words by this remarkable pianist.

Where's the love that's made to fill my heart

Where's the one from whom I'll never part

First they hurt me, then desert me

I'm left alone, all alone

Where's the house that I can call my home

Where's the place from which I'll never roam

Town or city, It's a pity

I'm left alone, all alone

Seek and find they always say

But up till now it's not that way

Maybe fate has let her pass me by

Or perhaps we'll meet before I die

Hearts will open, but until then

I'm left alone, all alone

(2002) One More Time ****1/2

 

With: Mal Waldron (piano), Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone on #3, #8), Jean-Jacques Avenel (bass on #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #8)
Record date: January 28 & 29, 2002

Mal did save some of his best music for his last recordings. 2002 was the year this humble jazz giant left our earth. But not before he left us with two more fantastic records. This first one was recorded in France and reunited Mal for another and unfortanely last time with his lifelong friend and associate Steve Lacy. Also present is the excellent French jazz bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel who is of course mostly known for his association with Lacy. The music presented here is somewhere in between jazz, improvised music and classical music. It’s far from contemporary kind of jazz and it show’s that even in 2002, Mal was still able to innovate and move in other directions. There’s this very dark and moody atmosphere trough the whole album and an indescribable sadness that is also sometimes present on his duet with Shepp from the very same year.

The album starts with one his most beautiful interpretations of his own composition All Alone. While the theme remains the same, the variations in between are all new and different. And part from that it just remains a landmark in Mal Waldron’s compositional career. It’s one of his saddest songs with incredible emotional layers in it that just go right trough the bone. Melodically or technically the whole composition is not a very difficult one. It’s just that every note is in exactly the right place. All Alone flows over perfectly into ‘Rites of Initation’ where Mal is joined by Avenel on bass. It all starts of as a conversation between them with Mal saying something with his hard and dark lower clusters in the lower regions of the piano. Avenel responds in the same registers of his bass. As the song progresses the music gets less structured and more free. It’s probably Mal’s most free playing in his later years. After reaching a climax things get more eased up again.

Lacy makes his first appearance on the romantic waltzing ‘You’ which was written by Mal. Mal and Avanel set a beautifully flowing waltzing line for Lacy to improvise on. Lacy sticks to the regular registers of his instruments showing he fully understands the directions Mal wants to go with it. Mal’s own solo is one of beautiful simplicity with carefully chosen loops en motifs. His playing still sound very secure. The ‘Blues for JJ’s Bass’ is a nice possibility for Avenel to show off his excellent bass playing skills. Excellent technique, creative both rhythmically as melodically his sound really adds a lot to this record. Then in comes Mal with some bluesy repetitive playing. With Avenels tight playing in the background he swings like hell.

There’s also a revisit of the classic ‘Seagulls of Kristiansand’ and this version is just another masterpiece in a different setting. Mal duels with Avenel’s bass, with Avenel picking up his bow sometimes imitating sounds by seagull’s than picking his bass again constantly responding to Mal’s warm legato notes. I only wish Lacy would have joined in here. Mal goes solo on ‘In the Land of Clusters’ where his playing is again more in a free kind of form. He regularly falls back on more recognizable patterns then getting back to more free improvisation making extensive use of dissonance and clusters (hence the title). And oh yeah Mal closes this recording session with a tearjerking and very definitive version of his own classic Soul Eyes. After introducing the theme with his own fluent playing, in comes a very playful Avenel who just dances around the sweet chords coming from Mal’s piano. And yes thank God there’s Lacy with a very modest but oh so beautiful contribution to it. I could hardly believe these were their last words on record together. The end of such a beautiful companionship.

This record is easy to obtain on websites like Discogs for very friendly prices. It’s essential late Mal. It has this weird feeling trough it. A kind of definitive feeling. Like Mal felt he would not be longer on this earth. There are no liner notes but only some words by Mal himself. They probably say it all…


‘Measured against eternity,
our life span is very short,
so I am extremely happy
to have this record as a high point of mine’ - Mal Waldron

(2001) David Murray/Mal Waldron - Silence *****

 

With: David Murray (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet), Mal Waldron (piano)
Record date: October 5 and 6, 2001

Oh yes another duo album and God it’s great. In a recording studio in Mal’s hometown Brussels he teamed up with David Murray. They are both prominent figures in the jazz scene, could play inside as well as outside the boundaries of contemporary jazz and both have a thing for the blues. Murray also recorded lots of albums: just like Mal, David was not afraid to put out 3 or 4 albums a year. Yet their path’s never crossed and they also do not have a lot in common when it comes to their usual sideman. And where Mal is known for his minimalistic approach, Murray is more for his furious attack with hundreds of notes a minute. But it was a very good decision to get into the studio and record something as their style tends to blend very well together. And I must say: their selection of compositions is just lovely.

It all starts with the beautiful tribute to Cecil Taylor: ‘Free for C.T’. Do not expect anything in the style of mr. Taylor: it’s a truly beautiful ballad. But there is nobody better capable of stretching out on a ballad like this as David Murray pushing the music in and out. He starts with a warm tone in the lower registers of his bass clarinet. As the music progresses his playing get’s more intense reaching climax after climax and entering the highest registers of his instrument. Yet is very much in control of himself, partly due to Mal’s excellent accompaniment. Mal’s solo here is one of my very favorite ones: it really is all what music should be about. Of course he was getting a little older so do not expect super fast runs. His solo is a vulnerable expression of the deepest parts of his soul. It’s just like every note fits perfectly. For some reason Justin Time credits this composition also to Max Roach but part from his appearance on the 1995 SLAM encounter I do not see the connection.

The much shorter follow up title song was written by Murray and is in a more free form style. It’s here where Murray truly releases all his anger, his furious lines that are quite the opposite of the title: Silence. ‘Hurray for Herbie’ is suited so well for his playing. Murray only adds up to the tense feeling this composition already have. It really sounds like a fight and Murray is only getting faster and faster, higher and higher with intensely hard overblows with a big fat vibrato. Then there is some space to breathe with an excellent version of the jazz standard 'I Should Care'. Just pay attention to how Mal is playing in the background with thoughtful details and playing the theme with his right hand. And his chordings always sound like a warm bath where you could just glide in. 

And then there is another pleasant surprise. Jean Pierre: a composition written by Miles Davis in his fusion/pop period. Ain’t nothing fusion going on here but it is pretty funky. It has a more laid back feeling and both Waldron and David take their time to fully stretch out on it with excellent interplay and ditto timing. Mal’s solo sounds happy and very bluesy. The treatment of ‘All Too Soon’ is romantic and warm. With lot’s of false air coming from Murray’s horn. Now if this was everything it would already have been a five star album. But Mal and David decided to keep the best thing for the end of the album. The 14 minute long version of Soul Eyes, with Murray on bass clarinet is stunning. I could use hundreds of more superlatives but one should really listen for themselves. This is what jazz music is about.

This fantastic album was released posthumously after Mal’s death. Justin Time brought it out in 2008. Mal played a lot of great duets and this is definitely among my very favorites. It’s also my favorite David Murray record, and I like his music a lot. Copies are still widely available. This is essential late Mal Waldron playing.

(1999) Mal Waldron **1/2

 

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.

(1996) Maturity 5: Elusiveness of Mt. Fuji ***1/2

With: Mal Waldron (piano)
Record date: July 4, 1996

The final recording of these series is a solo effort by Mal himself. It was released first as ‘Maturity’ which makes it a little confusing as this was not the first part of the later series that were also called Maturity. The 2003 issue was actually made the closing part: number 5. It was called for the famous Japanese volcano near the city of Tokyo that makes a lasting impression on every visitor: Mt. Fuji. The repertoire consists mostly of standards only except for Mal’s own original: The Seagulls of Kristiansund. Just like some other records in Japan, this was recorded in a theater but without an audience.

This is in no way an essential Mal Waldron record. All of the music goes by in a very relaxed tempo and atmosphere. Mal takes his time and space to work out everything nicely. The music is basic, yet detailed. It will not blow you off your feet and is in no way comparable to some of the solo records he made in the ’70’s. But its all very nice. Mal really sounds mature here and his sound is definite. He sounds like he has done everything already a thousand times and just goes back to the basic principles of his own style and playing. None of the standards is treated in a very creative way, but they surely come immediately recognizable out of Mal’s hands. And between the straight ahead lines he is playing are plenty of details that keeps the music interesting. The overall calmness in his playing gives this whole record a very meditative feeling. It’s an excellent pick for a late evening after a hard day’s work. Nice detail: the second version of Seagull's is accompanied by Mal's voice who is saying the lyrics. It really adds to the intimate feeling of the record. And Mal has a very warm and deep voice. He once stated that he wrote music with words in his mind.

And yes of course this 5th volume of the series is hard to find, and so is the original 1997 release which isn’t even on Discogs. I could imagine no one wants to pay 60 euros for a record like this. I paid around 30 for mine. Though it’s not essential, I still love it. And the sound is just amazing. It’s like your in Mal’s Steinway.