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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.
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