A Mal Waldron thread because there isn't a Mal Waldron thread

No Mal Waldron thread is something of a travesty. I know I've talked about him on here with various people that know way more than me so if you all could re-enact them here for posterity...

Thread prompted by listening to the *Seagulls of Kristansund* album in the blue twilight. God alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4R5BvSrzpc

I consider myself but in all honesty he’s got a pretty sizable discography and I’ve only heard a small part of it. But I love his solo piano work especially. I think “the opening “ is a masterpiece and the record I tend to reach for.

“Consider myself a fan” that should say.

search: The Quest, Impressions, Free at Last, Up Popped The Devil, The Call, Three For Freedom

I'd add *Blues for Lady Day*, *First Encounter* with Gary Peacock & Hiroshi Murakami and *After Hours*, his album with Jeanne Lee which is beautiful.

1 and 2 are super also.

I really like his "plays Erik Satie" album as well.

heh Eric

he had a total mental/physical breakdown that was so damaging he couldn't remember how to play and practically re-learned from apparently almost a scratch position. I'm into that kind of inspirational shit

I always imagine he might have felt a bit dirty playing an electric piano on The Call, because he never used one again. It did really suit his style though.

a great album where is a fantastic side player: Ron Carter's Where (also featuring Dolphy)

*he is*

from the ever-handy trove ov Night Lights radio show, an enjoyable excursion:

Soul Eyes: The Early Mal Waldron Songbook

Waldron's catalog is a major gap in my listening — I've just never gotten around to him. (The long history of collaboration with Steve Lacy, a guy I have very little time for outside of his work with Cecil Taylor, doesn't help.) But I listened to half of Seagulls of Kristiansund earlier and yeah, it's pretty great. I mean, you can't fuck with that band: Woody Shaw, Charlie Rouse, Reggie Workman, and Ed Blackwell? Come on now.

I still need this, as pictured on homepage for that xpost "Night Lights" Mal stream and text:
https://indianapublicmedia.org/large-wpimages/nightlights/2016/08/Mal-Waldron.jpg

Also in "Night Lights" archive: 2007 news of a 1984 Mal-Woody concert uploaded, with a link to another guy;s (dime) link:
https://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/mal-waldronwoody-shaw-1984.php

his final album (One More Time) made when I think he knew he didn't have much mortal time left is rather brilliant.

I went to see him play a tiny club in Portland in 1991, purely because I recognised the name from a Frank O'Hara poem, and he was wonderful.

I'd forgotten about Seagulls of Kristansund, he had a right combo there.

I love any album with Ed Blackwell on drums

great recs from calzino! most of what i'd point out has already been mentioned, but:

Charles Mingus - BLUES & ROOTS. MW played a lot with mingus and dolphy in the early '60s. it's pretty much all good, but this is a personal fav.

Eric Dolphy - AT THE FIVE SPOT (two volumes). speaking of ed blackwell on drums.

Steve Lacy - REFLECTIONS. amazing record, all monk covers, elvin jones on drums.

Johnny Dyani - SOME JIVE ASS BORE ('81). this is a duo recording. there's another duo recording from Rome '79 that you can find floating around online. pretty much anything with johny dyani is worth checking out in my experience.

He's playing on all or most of Jackie McLean's run of LPs for Prestige in the mid-'50s, but I have never checked those out. He also played with Max Roach on three records for Impulse in the early '60s and I'd also like to check those out at some point.

lmao i meant SOME JIVE AS BOER, but it think the pun is intended

okay so i introduced a second typo. logging off now

Man, he has a deep catalog and I really haven't spent enough time with it. Always loved The Quest and his work as a sideman.

I think he should have released a record called The Mallest Waldron

I consider myself but in all honesty he’s got a pretty sizable discography and I’ve only heard a small part of it.

goes for me as well.

years ago i grabbed Reminiscent Suite w/ Terumasa Hino off some mp3 blog and it's tremendous for a little known/OOP release. The Call also rules, i gotta check out more of calzino's recs. i like his early 70's stuff best of what i've heard.

here's a good one. three MW-penned tunes, including "pivot", which sounds more like a contrapuntal "birth of the cool" outtake than anything. and really hip solos from jimmy raney throughout.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6d/2_Guitars.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwaKqnkUjHk

another album he did with Burrell (and Paul Chambers), After Hours is really nice

Release of a Japan-only record coming on BBE: https://bbemusic.bandcamp.com/album/reminicent-suite-2

(On Spotify if that's your thing. Kinda hard to find. https://open.spotify.com/album/5JT9znRPRJTbc9OZCOweUD?si=pE98oghtThOGVI5zdNM5_w )

oh yeah, that's a good one. heavy!

nice ... I like it. Unsurprisingly I couldn't find Three For Freedom on spotify

Randomly pulled out First Encounter, a w/ Gary Peacock recording, early this morning and it sounded really good — not sure if I was just in the mood or if I never paid much attention before.

only one of his i've heard is "spanish bitch" which was posted on the wfmu blog back in the day. no idea if it's typical.

I think the most atypical Waldron album is The Call (w/Eberhard Weber) on which he has a go with an electronic keyboard, possibly the only time he used one so perhaps he wasn't comfortable playing with it, but it is a fantastic album.

I love "The Call". Young Weber plays with a very different energy on this than he's known for in later years. Fantastic playing all around.

As discussed over at Aquarium Drunkard, The Call is indeed fantastic. And in desperate need of a reissue. Even the CD reissue from awhile back goes for three figures.

this modal air trio album is sweet: https://www.dustygroove.com/item/116613/Mal-Waldron:Modal-Air

I listened to the sample tracks, and it was giving me Jazz pa Svenska vibes, so I ordered it.

(I don't connect with all of Mal's boppier stuff, but this sounds very subdued)

Millions of Records (formerly Ernie B's) has the Modal Air album for $5. I've had good experiences with them (including getting MA), often have great prices like this. (don't know if Naked Lunch legitimately licenses their stuff)

I thought I had all his 60's albums, had never heard of Modal-Air before.

journey without end (w steve lacy)

^^^

this is another good one, although all I could find at the time was a not very good quality vinyl rip on slsk

I thought I had all his 60's albums, had never heard of Modal-Air before.

iirc it has also been released under two different titles

anyone know why this record is so inexpensive everywhere? Not that I'm complaining

it is suspicious.

Currently kind of obsessed with his album ‘A Touch of the Blues’ - a lesser-known live trio recording on Enja from his European days in the ‘70s. Just three long tracks that spiral on forever. Jimmy Woode and Allen Blairman are on form.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziUDEHXWeMc

hey cooldix, good to see you posting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3XJ5x8mbxM

brilliant Waldron doc here, no annoying voiceover, just music and Waldron + the likes of Jeanne Lee, Max Roach, Andrew Cyrille, Reggie Workman talking about his music.

thank you!

Yeah thanks!

Nice! Thanks Calz.