MAL WALDRON (Solo / Sextet) – Moods (2LP-1979)

Label: Enja Records – enja 3021  

(also; Inner City Records – IC 3018-2)

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: W. Germany / Released: 1979

Style: Free Jazz, Post Bop

Recorded in May 1978, Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg.

Design [Cover] – Weber, Winckelmann

Photography – Ghert Chesi

Producer – Horst Weber, Matthias Winckelmann

Recorded By – Carlos Albrecht

A1 - Minoat . . . . . . . . . . 8:08

A2 - A Case Of Plus 4's . . . . . . . . . . 14:59

B  -  Sieg Haile . . . . . . . . . . 20:14

C1 - Anxiety . . . . . . . . . . 3:29

C2 - Thoughtful . . . . . . . . . . 6:07

C3 - Lonely . . . . . . . . . . 6:34

C4 - Happiness . . . . . . . . . . 3:04

D1 - Soul Eyes . . . . . . . . . . 6:49

D2 - I Thought About You . . . . . . . . . . 7:39

D3 - Duquility . . . . . . . . . . 8:31

Mal Waldron — piano

Terumasa Hino — cornet

Steve Lacy — soprano saxophone

Hermann Breuer — trombone

Cameron Brown — bass
Makaya Ntshoko — drums, percussion

This double-Lp features pianist Mal Waldron in two very different settings. On the first three songs (including the 20-minute sidelong "Sieg Haile"), he performs three of his compositions in a sextet with cornetist Terumasa Hino, soprano-saxophonist Steve Lacy, trombonist Hermann Breuer, bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Makaya Ntshoko. While that set has its share of fireworks, the remaining seven selections (six originals including his famous "Soul Eyes" plus the lone standard "I Thought About You") showcase Waldron as a sensitive solo pianist. This enjoyable and subtle music (which was also available at one time domestically on Inner City) gives one a well-rounded picture of Mal Waldron's talents in the late 1970's.

_ Review by Scott Yanow

Clocking in at over an hour, this generous presentation is nicely varied, alternating solo piano pieces with a fine sextet. In the latter, Waldron is joined by frequent collaborator Steve Lacy on soprano saxophone. In addition to the rhythm section, cornet player Terumasa Hino and trombonist Hermann Breuer round things out. Waldron relocated from the United States to Europe in the late '60s, and MOODS was recorded, with extraordinary warmth and clarity, in Germany in 1978. After the brief solitary piano of "Anxiety," "Sieg Haile" comes marching in with supple relentlessness. Waldron's compositions favor sharply defined chordal structures supporting simple, yet unexpected melodic lines. The album closer is the set's one cover, Jimmy Van Heusen's "I Thought About You." This performance embraces the same heartbreaking beauty favored by Billie Holiday, for whom Waldron was the final piano player in the '50s...

Beautiful music on two LP's. Enjoy!

If you find it, buy this album!

MAL WALDRON QUINTET with STEVE LACY - One-Upmanship (LP-1977)

Label: Enja Records – enja 2092

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: W. Germany / Released: 1977

Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded on February 12, 1977 at Conny's Studio, Wolperath, Germany.

Design [Coverdesign] – Winckelmann, Weber

Engineer – Conny Plank

Photography By [Cover] – Christian Fauchard

Producer – Horst Weber, Matthias Winckelmann

A1 - One Upmanship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:20

A2 - The Seagulls Of Kristiansund . . . . .  11:30

B  -  Hurray For Herbie . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . 19:56

Manfred Schoof – trumpet

Steve Lacy – soprano saxophone

Mal Waldron – piano

Jimmy Woode – bass

Makaya Ntshoko – drums, percussion

Pianist Mal Waldron and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy first recorded together in the late-'50s. Both spent most of the careers working and living in Europe, and this album was recorded in Germany. Both musicians mix a precise sense of angularity with deeply emotive poetics. The three quintet pieces, featuring a rhythm section and trumpet player Manfred Schoof, include the staggeringly beautiful "The Seagulls of Kristiansund." Lacy's playing is an apt voice for this piece's melancholy seascape. All the album's compositions were written by Waldron...

The appearance of any recording by Mal Waldron should be a cause for celebration, but this one is particularly special for a number of reasons. Not only is Waldron joined by his longtime duo partner, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, but by three other performers with a keen simpatico: trumpeter Manfred Schoof, bassist Jimmy Woode, and drummer Makaya Ntshoko. The playing of each of these men, including Waldron, on One-Upmanship should alone be enough to give them unsung hero status.

This set includes the multifaceted title track, the delicate "Seagulls of Kristiansund," and the rousing "Hooray for Herbie." Lacy plays with emotional restraint wrapped in breathtaking virtuosity, as in his extended upper-upper-register fadeout on "Seagulls." Schoof sets him off with ferociously fluent solos at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum. And Mal Waldron - well! There is a point where words fail.

Absolutely first-rate jazz. Highly, highly recommended.

If you find it, buy this album!