Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Waldron led his own bands and played for those led by

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians an ...

, Jackie McLean,

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and rai ...

, and

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to ...

, among others. During Waldron's period as house pianist for Prestige Records in the late 1950s, he appeared on dozens of albums and composed for many of them, including writing his most famous song, " Soul Eyes", for Coltrane. Waldron was often an accompanist for vocalists, and was

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

's regular accompanist from April 1957 until her death in July 1959. A breakdown caused by a drug overdose in 1963 left Waldron unable to play or remember any music; he regained his skills gradually, while redeveloping his speed of thought. He left the U.S. permanently in the mid-1960s, settled in Europe, and continued touring internationally until his death. In his 50-year career, Waldron recorded more than 100 albums under his own name and more than 70 for other band leaders. He also wrote for modern ballet, and composed the scores of several

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s. As a pianist, Waldron's roots lay chiefly in the

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gosp ...

and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s, but with time he gravitated more towards

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians dur ...

. He is known for his dissonant chord voicings and distinctive later playing style, which featured repetition of notes and motifs.

Early life

Mal Waldron was born in New York City on August 16, 1925, to West Indian immigrants.Lock, Graham (1994) ''Chasing the Vibration: Meetings with Creative Musicians''. pp. 36–37. Stride Publications. His father was a mechanical engineer who worked on the Long Island Rail Road. The family moved to

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Spring ...

when Mal was four years old.WKCR broadcast (August 23, 2001) Transcribed at Panken, Ted (August 15, 2011
"Two Interviews with Mal Waldron on the 86th Anniversary of His Birth"
Transcript of WKCR radio interview. Accessed July 9, 2013. Waldron's parents discouraged his initial interest in jazz, but he was able to maintain it by listening to

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

on the radio. Waldron had classical piano lessons from the age of around seven until he was about 16.Stokes, W. Royal (2002) ''Living the Jazz Life: Conversations with Forty Musicians About Their Careers in Jazz''. Oxford University Press. He then became inspired to play jazz on tenor saxophone when he heard

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

' 1939 recording of " Body and Soul", but bought an alto saxophone, unable to afford a tenor. He played alto for local bands that performed for "dances, bar mitzvahs, Spanish weddings", frequently taking over the pianist's role when other musicians took their solos. In 1943, after high school and having enrolled in college, Waldron was called up by the army, and was based at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, in New York."Mal Waldron"
(December 13, 2002) news.scotsman.com Accessed July 2, 2013. This allowed him to listen to the greats of jazz in clubs on 52nd Street and elsewhere in the city. After two years in the army,Davis, Francis (October 13, 1990
"Mal Waldron Is Coming to the Bride"
''The Inquirer''. he returned as a student to Queens College in New York, where he studied under composer

Karol Rathaus Karol Rathaus (Karl Leonhard Bruno Rathaus; also Leonhard Bruno; 16 September 1895 — 21 November 1954) was a German-Austrian Jewish composer who immigrated to the United States via Berlin, Paris, and London, escaping the rise of Nazism in German ...

and made the final decision to switch from saxophone to piano.Feather, Leonard and Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. p. 670. Oxford University Press. This decision was influenced in part by hearing

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

's virtuoso speed on saxophone, and by not having the extroverted personality Waldron thought necessary for that instrument. Not yet a professional musician, he received money through the G.I. Bill and continued to live with his parents. After obtaining a B.A. in music in 1949, Waldron worked for a short time in

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed p ...

bands, including with Big Nick Nicholas.Novod, Eri
"Waldron, Mal (Malcolm Earl)"
. jazz.com Accessed July 2, 2013.

Later life and career

Early career in New York

Waldron went on to work with Ike Quebec in New York in 1950 and made his recording debut with the saxophonist in 1952. They played at Café Society Downtown on Mondays for six or seven months, which helped Waldron gain exposure and more work. Waldron worked frequently with

from 1954 to 1956, as part of the latter's jazz composers' workshop. He was pianist on several Mingus recordings, including '' Pithecanthropus Erectus'', which was a key development in the movement towards freer collective improvisation in jazz. In 1955, Waldron worked with Lucky Millinder and Lucky Thompson. Waldron formed his own band in 1956, which consisted of Idrees Sulieman (trumpet), Gigi Gryce (alto saxophone), Julian Euell (bass), and

Arthur Edgehill Clifford Arthur Edgehill (born July 21, 1926, Feather, Leonard G. (1960''The Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 189. Horizon Press At Google Books. Retrieved 28 April 2013. originally spelled Edghill) is an American hard bop jazz drummer active in the ...

(drums). This band recorded Waldron's first release as a leader, ''

Mal-1 ''Mal-1'' is the debut album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron. It was recorded in November 1956 and released on the Prestige Records, Prestige label in May 1957.

'', in November of that year.Todd, Ji
"Mal-1: Review"
AllMusic. Accessed July 9, 2013. Waldron was

's regular accompanist from April 1957 until her death in July 1959, including for the all-star television broadcast '' The Sound of Jazz''. Waldron played on numerous sessions for Prestige Records from 1956 to 1958,Doerschuk, Robert L. and Kernfeld, Barry ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd ed.)
"Waldron, Mal"
Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed May 12, 2013. (Subscription required.) as he was the house pianist with the label, a position he acquired after being introduced to Prestige by saxophonist Jackie McLean. Waldron appeared on several McLean-led recordings, and was praised by critic John S. Wilson for these performances as being "a consistently interesting and inventive pianist, who apparently can create fresh and provocative ideas even in the midst of a shrilling bedlam". Other leaders he worked under at Prestige included

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and ...

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

, and

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

. Waldron often used his own arrangements and compositions for the Prestige sessions, of which his most famous, " Soul Eyes", written for Coltrane, became a widely recorded

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive l ...

following its initial appearance on the 1957 album '' Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors''.Ratliff, Ben (December 6, 2002
"Mal Waldron, 77, Composer of the Jazz Ballad 'Soul Eyes'"
''The New York Times''. He composed at night at home in St. Albans between all-day recording sessions, and in a car traveling to and from the studio in Hackensack. Waldron estimated that he composed more than 400 pieces of music during his time with Prestige. After Holiday died, Waldron played with vocalist Abbey Lincoln and her husband, drummer

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

. Around this time, Waldron's playing on his own recordings became darker, featuring emotional shifts and variations in minor keys. In 1961, Waldron played in

and

Booker Little Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961)
– accessed June 2010 was an American

's quintet, a promising combination that ended when Little died that year, aged 23. In addition to writing for his own band and those led by others, Waldron wrote and arranged for early play-along records that were published by Music Minus One. Some of these recordings on which Waldron played were released under his name. He also wrote scores for modern ballet in the 1950s and started writing film scores in the following decade. His writing for the film '' The Cool World'' (released in 1964) was described in ''The Oxford Companion to Jazz'' as one of the first attempts to stress improvisation rather than composition in a jazz-based film score.

Breakdown and recovery

In 1963 Waldron had a major breakdown caused by a heroin overdose. He recounted in 1998 that a lot of musicians in the 1950s and 1960s felt that taking drugs was necessary for career progression. The police assumed they were all doing it, according to Waldron:

The police would stop the musicians and search us as we came out of the clubs after work. We had to turn our pockets inside out. After a while, the musicians thought ... well, if you have the name you might as well have the game. Eventually, I overdosed. I couldn't remember my own name. My hands were trembling, I couldn't play the piano. I needed shock treatments and a spinal tap to bring me back.

Waldron always felt that he had to return to playing, but this was a slow process. About a year after the overdose, his physical recovery was sufficient to allow him to start relearning his skills, which he did partly by listening to his own records.Shipton, Alyn (2004) ''Handful of Keys: Conversations with Thirty Jazz Pianists''. Equinox. His recovery as a musician continued for another two years, as his speed of thought was still too slow over that period to allow genuine improvisation: "I worked out my solos in advance and played what I had written out, until gradually all my faculties returned".

Career after move to Europe

From the mid-1960s on, Waldron spent a lot of time in Europe: Paris, Rome, Bologna, and Cologne, before moving permanently to Munich in 1967. Waldron originally moved to France when film director Marcel Carné asked him if he wanted to compose the score for '' Three Rooms in Manhattan'' in New York or Paris; Waldron's 1958 experience touring Europe with Holiday made the decision an easy one. Waldron's stated reasons for settling in Europe were his disgust with the "fierce, cutthroat competition, just to get a job" and the fact that black musicians were paid less than their white counterparts in the U.S.Pareles, Jon (September 10, 1982) "Pop/Jazz: Mal Waldron, Expatriate, Brings Quintet to Town" ''The New York Times''. p. C22. The 1965 score for ''Three Rooms in Manhattan'' was followed by one for the American film '' Sweet Love, Bitter'' in 1967. Waldron also composed for theater ( Amiri Baraka's ''The Slave'' and '' Dutchman''), television, and short films. In Europe around this time he played with other expatriates, including Ben Webster and

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-h ...

. Waldron's 1969 album '' Free at Last'' was the first release on the

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...

label. This recording was an example of Waldron playing, in his words, "rhythmically instead of soloing on chord changes". Two years later, another Waldron recording session was the first for another label that became firmly established – Enja Records. His 1971 album '' The Call'' was the first release on the ECM sublabel JAPO; it features Waldron playing an electric piano. In the early 1970s, he collaborated with the German

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, a ...

band

Embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ...

on the albums ''Steig Aus!'' and ''Rocksession''. Waldron also wrote the score for the 1972 French film '' George Who?'' Waldron became popular in Japan, first playing there in 1970, after being invited by ''Swing Journal'' following the success of one of his earlier recordings. From 1975 he made visits to the U.S., mostly playing solo piano from the late 1970s to early 1980s. Other formats included a quartet with Joe Henderson, Herbie Lewis, and Freddie Waits; another quartet with Charlie Rouse, Calvin Hill and Horacee Arnold; a trio with Hill and Arnold; and a duo with Cameron Brown. Waldron performed and recorded extensively throughout Europe and Japan. In the early 1980s he reported that he allotted agents in France, Germany, Italy and Scandinavia a month each per year of his time, but set aside two months for Japan. During the 1980s and 1990s Waldron worked with

Steve Lacy Steve Lacy may refer to: Music * Steve Lacy (saxophonist) (1934–2004), American jazz saxophonist and composer * Steve Lacy (singer) (born 1998), American musician Other occupations *Steve Lacy (coach) (1908–2000), American college sports coach ...

, notably in piano–soprano duets playing their own compositions as well as

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

's. Duet albums with others were also prominent in Waldron's recordings from the early 1980s. This setting was chosen partly for economic reasons, but mainly for artistic ones, Waldron stated: "jazz is like a conversation. ..So to do this face to face, it is more direct, stronger and more accurate". A further film score was written for Japanese director Haruki Kadokawa's ''Tokyo Blues'' in 1986. Waldron moved from Munich to Brussels in the 1990s, stating that, in Belgium, "nobody stands on the corner waiting for the lights to change. In Germany they watch the lights instead of the cars. The lights never killed anybody." From the mid-1990s, Waldron traveled to the U.S. less frequently, put off by no longer being allowed to smoke in many of the jazz clubs there. Around the same period, Waldron recorded several albums with vocalist Jeanne Lee. Two of his final recordings were duets with saxophonists who tended, as he did, to play in melodic and

free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

forms: David Murray and Archie Shepp. After some years of indifferent health, Waldron, a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with cancer in 2002. He continued to perform until his death on December 2 of that year in a hospital in Brussels, due to complications resulting from the cancer."Mal Waldron, 77; Pianist Played with Many Jazz Greats"
(December 4, 2002) ''Los Angeles Times''. He was 77, and had played his final concert in Lille two weeks earlier.

Personal life

Waldron married twice and had seven childrenFordham, John (January 28, 2003
"Mal Waldron"
''The Guardian''. – two with his first wife and five with the second. Billie Holiday was godmother to his first daughter. Waldron's first wife, Elaine, occasionally sang on his recordings. His second wife was Japanese, and they owned and let several apartments in Japan. Combining birthday celebrations with a tour, Waldron took both families – ex-wife, wife, seven children and two grandchildren – on his three-week tour of Japan that coincided with his seventieth birthday.Zwerin, Mike (January 22, 1998

''The New York Times''. Waldron's mother died in 1979.Wilson, John S. (November 13, 1981) "Mal Waldron Back in a Solo Concert" ''The New York Times''. p. C17. He could speak English, French, German, and Japanese.

Artistry

When he first played with Mingus, Waldron was a follower of

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...

's style, which used added chords and

passing note A nonchord tone (NCT), nonharmonic tone, or embellishing tone is a note in a piece of music or song that is not part of the implied or expressed chord set out by the harmonic framework. In contrast, a chord tone is a note that is a part of the ...

s, as well as Bud Powell's, which contained many runs. Mingus encouraged him to strip away these things and concentrate on basic and altered harmonies.Rosenthal, David (1993) ''Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music, 1955–1965''. p. 137. Oxford University Press. Before his breakdown, Waldron played in a lyrical way, but after it, "I couldn't find that lyricism inside myself any more, so I became a very angular player", becoming more like Thelonious Monk in playing and composition style. From the time he moved to Europe, Waldron played mostly in a free style, while being able to play in a more traditional style when the audience or situation required it. He used thick chords in the lower bass register; 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 dark color to his sound. One facet of his playing was, according to ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled ...

'', "likened to American minimalism: a slow accretion of almost subliminal harmonic and rhythmic shifts steadily pile up until the music seems ready to overbalance".Cook, Richard and Morton, Brian (2008) ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings''. Penguin. As an accompanist to vocalists Holiday, Lincoln, Lee and others, Waldron was described by critic and musician

Alyn Shipton Alyn Shipton (born 24 November 1953) is an English jazz author, presenter, critic, and jazz bassist. Early life Shipton became interested in jazz in his youth and formally studied cello, but also played double bass in a school jazz band. He pla ...

as "one of the most sublime accompanists in jazz". Waldron's own assessment of his style was that it was partly a reflection of his personality: "It's part of my personality to be very economical with what I have and to use it in all variations before I move to the next set of notes". He acknowledged the influences of Holiday (on his conception of space and playing behind the beat), Mingus (for the importance of individuality), and Roach (on the value of

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western culture, Western musical notation to specify how many beat (music), beats (pulses) are contained in each measu ...

s other than the usual 4/4), as well as pianists

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

, Monk, Powell and

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

Influence

Waldron has influenced later generations of pianists. Examples are Matthew Shipp and Stanley Cowell. Another, Ethan Iverson, describes Waldron as one of his biggest influences, and reports having imitated most aspects of the older man's style during his own musical development, through listening to Waldron's recordings.Iverson, Etha
"On Mal Waldron"
. Ethan Iverson's blog. Accessed July 14, 2013. Waldron contributed more personally to Ran Blake's progress: he was Blake's teacher for a time, helping him to improve his rhythmic flexibility and idea development.Lyons, Len (1983) ''The Great Jazz Pianists: Speaking of Their Lives and Music''. p. 197. W. Morrow.

Discography

References

External links

"Chronological list of Mal Waldron records"

Mal Waldron discography by session

"On Mal Waldron"
– essay by Ethan Iverson {{DEFAULTSORT:Waldron, Mal 1925 births 2002 deaths American jazz composers American jazz pianists American male pianists Avant-garde jazz pianists Black Lion Records artists Enja Records artists Freedom Records artists Hard bop pianists Jazz musicians from New York (state) American male jazz composers Modal jazz pianists Musicians from New York City Palo Alto Records artists Post-bop pianists Prestige Records artists Timeless Records artists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century jazz composers United States Army personnel of World War II