Representative Albums: "One and Two," "Update," "Seagulls of Kristiansund: Live at the Village Vanguard"
Representative Songs: "The Seagulls of Kristiansund," "Soul Eyes," "Fire Waltz"
Biography
A pianist with a brooding, rhythmic, introverted style, Mal Waldron's playing has long been flexible enough to fit into both hard bop and freer settings. Influenced by Thelonious Monk's use of space, Waldron has had his own distinctive chord voicings nearly from the start. Early on, Waldron played jazz on alto and classical music on piano, but he switched permanently to jazz piano while at Queens College. He freelanced around New York in the early '50s with Ike Quebec (for whom he made his recording debut), Big Nick Nicholas and a variety of R&B-ish groups. Waldron frequently worked with Charles Mingus from 1954-56 and was Billie Holiday's regular accompanist during her last two years (1957-59). Often hired by Prestige to supervise recording sessions, Waldron contributed many originals (including "Soul Eyes," which became a standard) and basic arrangements that prevented spontaneous dates from becoming overly loose jam sessions. He has mostly led his own groups since Holiday's death, although he was part of the Eric Dolphy Booker Little Quintet that was recorded extensively at the Five Spot in 1961, and also worked with Abbey Lincoln for a time during the era. He wrote three film scores (The Cool World, Three Bedrooms In Manhattan and Sweet Love Bitter) before moving permanently to Europe in 1965, settling in Munich in 1967. Waldron, who has occasionally returned to the U.S. for visits, has long been a major force in the European jazz world. His album Free at Last was the first released by ECM, and his Black Glory was the fourth Enja album. Mal Waldron, who frequently teamed up with Steve Lacy (often as a duet), kept quite busy up through the '90's, featuring a style that evolved but was certainly traceable to his earliest record dates. Among the many labels that have documented his music have been Prestige, New Jazz, Bethlehem, Impulse, Musica, Affinity, ECM, Futura, Nippon Phonogram, Enja, Freedom, Black Lion, Horo, Teichiku, Hat Art, Palo Alto, Eastwind, Baybridge, Paddle Wheel, Muse, Free Lance, Soul Note, Plainisphere and Timeless. In September of 2002, Waldron was diagnosed with cancer. Remaining optimistic, he continued to tour until he passed away on December 2nd in Brussels, Belgium at the age of 76. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: The Cool World, Sweet Love, Bitter, Kokoro no Naka
First Major Screen Credit: The Cool World (1963)
Biography
Following his dreams to become one of the premier jazz pianists of his era, Mal Waldron provided musical accompaniment with his remarkable talent to such jazz luminaries as Billie Holiday and John Coltrane. Waldron was born in New York City in 1926, and graduated from Queens College with a B.A. in composition before recording his earliest works with Ike Quebec in 1950. Waldron formed his own quartet after becoming involved with Charles Mingus' jazz workshop in 1954, and subsequent years would find Waldron performing closely with Holiday in her later years. The French-, German-, Italian-, and Japanese-speaking musician relocated to Europe in 1965, where he gained increasing popularity. Waldron's "Soul Eyes" would quickly become a jazz standard. On December 2, 2002, Mal Waldron died, due to complications resulting from cancer in Brussels, Belgium. He was 77. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition. He is known for his dissonant chord voicings and distinctive playing style, which was originally inspired by Thelonious Monk.
Waldron had a unique yet instantly recognizable playing style. He finessed thick and rich chords in the lower bass register; although sometimes compared to Bud Powell and Thelonius Monk for his dissonant voicings, his emphasis on weight, texture and frequent repetition of a single and simple motif as opposed to linear and melodic improvisation gave a heavy and melancholic color to his sound. Considered somewhat of an avant-gardist, his solo style - which often produced more of a wall of sound than a line of melody - was in stark contrast to more traditional and technical players of his time. Waldron became something of an unsung legend for his uncanny ability to play very slow, deep and even disturbing ballads bordering on sorrow, while himself sitting perfectly motionless, stoic and stolid at the piano, his face devoid of all emotion.
Besides performing, he composed for films (The Cool World, Three Bedrooms in Manhattan and Sweet Love Bitter), theatre, and ballet. In 1963 he had a major nervous breakdown, and had to re-learn his skills, apparently by listening to his own records. Waldron's playing style re-emerged more brooding, starker and percussive, combining bebop and avant-garde melodies, and at times weaving repetitive melodic motifs using just a few notes over a drone like accompaniment figure.
Europe
After working on a film score in Europe he moved there permanently in 1965 initially living in Munich, Germany and in his last years he was based in Brussels, Belgium. He performed and recorded extensively throughout Europe and Japan in his later decades, regularly returned to the United States for bookings.
His 1969 album, Free At Last, was the first ever release on the ECM label.
Through the 1980s and 1990s he worked in various settings with Steve Lacy, notably in soprano-piano duets playing their own compositions as well as Monk's.
After some years of indifferent health, though continuing to perform, Waldron died in December 2002 in Brussels, Belgium.
