Mal Waldron
Biography Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
1957 was a very productive year for Waldron who, in addition to releasing two records as bandleader and performing on numerous others as sideman to the likes of John Coltrane and Jackie McLean, recorded no fewer than nine studio albums with The Prestige All Stars. This included the highly-regarded After Hours (Prestige), for which the pianist composed all four of the tracks featured. Waldron would go on to compose over 400 pieces in all while at Prestige. He became Billie Holiday s pianist from August 1957, accompanying her on her television appearance for The Sound of Jazz. Following her tragic death at the age of 44, his album Left Alone (Bethlehem, 1959) - released in Holiday s honour - featured a title track for which Billie composed the lyrics. Waldron then teamed up with vocalist Abbey Lincoln and her then-husband, famed jazz drummer and bandleader Max Roach. He remained highly active towards the turn of the decade, forming a group with Eric Dolphy and Booker Little which lasted until Little s premature death in 1961, and recording several more albums as bandleader. He even performed on a number of play-along educational records for the Music Minus One publishing company. A major turning point in Waldron s career came in 1963 when, following a heroin overdose, Waldron suffered a major breakdown which left him unable to play the piano. His work was essentially put on hold for the next three years while he undertook shock therapy to help regain control of his hands, and a year later he began to slowly regain his abilities by teaching himself solos from his own records. He began recording again in 1966, having been invited to France by director Marcel Carné to score the 1965 film Three Rooms in Manhattan. Following this, Waldron spent much time in Europe, particularly in Paris, Rome, Bologna and Cologne, before settling permanently in Munich in 1967, stating his disillusionment with the cutthroat nature of the American jazz scene and seeing his fellow black musicians being paid significantly less than their white counterparts as his impetus. Waldron would continue to do soundtrack work for film and television over the next several years, as well as appearing on albums by Ben Webster and Kenny Clarke. He was also by now back into full swing with his own work as bandleader, and recorded the debut albums for two new European jazz labels - Free At Last (ECM, 1969) and Mal Waldron Plays The Blues (Enja, 1971). Mal Waldron continued to experiment, perform and record throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and in the early 70s recorded a number of albums with German avant-garde outfit Embryo. In the 80s and 90s he made a series of duet LPs with soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy and towards the end of this period he moved from Munich to Brussels, performing alongside jazz vocalist Jeanne Lee. His final records were further duet albums, with saxophonists David Murray and Archie Shepp. Having been a heavy smoker his entire life, Waldron was diagnosed with cancer in 2002 and, just two weeks after his final concert in Lille, he passed away aged 77 on 2nd December that year. Mal Waldron s influence on jazz pianists throughout the second half of the 20th century and beyond has been nothing short of profound and enduring, and he informed and inspired the jazz community and its adherents throughout his career, and has continued to do so since his death.
