7 Classic Albums

Mal-1 (1956): MW, p; Idrees Sulieman, tpt; Gigi Gryce, alto sx; Julian Euell, b; Arthur Edgehill, dr.Mal/2 (1957): MW, p; John Coltrane, ten sx; Bill Hardman or Idrees Sulieman, tpt; Sahib Shihab or Jackie McLean, alto sx; Julian Euell, b; Art Taylor or Ed Thigpen, dr.Mal/3: Sounds (1958): MW, p; Art Farmer, tpt; Eric Dixon, flt; Calo Scott, cello; Julian Euell, b; Elvin Jones, dr; Elaine Waldron, voc.Mal/4: Trio (1958): MW, p; Addison Farmer, b; Kenny Dennis, dr.Left Alone (1959): MW, p; Jackie McLean, alto sx; Julian Euell, b; Al Dreares, dr.Impressions (1959): MW, p; Addison Farmer, b; Albert Heath, dr.The Quest (1961): MW, p; Eric Dolphy, alto sx, clari; Booker Ervin, ten sx; Ron Carter, cello; Joe Benjamin, b; Charlie Persip, dr.What a pleasure to have all these albums together in one collection! Mal Waldron was one of the best composers writing in a bop vein at the end of the fifties and into the early sixties. He was also a distinctive soloist whose piano work never blended into any of the dominant arch-models of the day. His sound on piano was worlds apart from Monk’s --lighter touch, faster movement across the keys—but he seemed to have learned from Monk, or learned independently, many of the ways to voice chords and what notes to put in sequence. More than that, he played around with melody fragments much like Monk did, turning a phrase this way and that, rather than moving on right away to the song’s next chord base as Bud Powell and his followers did. The result was interesting solos in the middle of interesting compositions, and the result of all that was the release of a stream of good to outstanding small group, solo and trio albums by Waldron that would that continue until his nervous breakdown in 1963, after which it took years for Waldron to rebuild his pianistic skills.Mal/1 and Mal/2: For the most part, Waldron picked good companions on these early albums. Over his career, trumpeter Sulieman was an erratic soloist but his work on these two albums is first-rate and his fat sound an asset. Hardman replaces Sulieman on three of the six cuts on Mal/2. He is less engaging: I heard him live several times when he was with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and found him thin in ideas. Gryce solos competently, as does Shihab, McLean is very good, but Coltrane is the bear among the horns, more confident in ideas and bigger in sound. The drummers on Mal/2 --Art Taylor and Ed Thigpen—are, no surprise, superior to Edgehill on Mal/1. Waldron’s quirky originals play better for the groups than do the standards. On all of them, though, you notice Waldron’s interest in voicings and intervals. He was a canny composer who really took advantage of the individual sounds of the musicians in whatever group he led at the time.Mal/3: Sounds: On Mal/3, Farmer plays fluently and with warmth and Dixon on flute is surprisingly good. Calo Scott on cello solos competently enough but his cello sound is thin –intensity drops when he takes off on a solo. Elaine Waldron’s vocals don’t embarrass and of course Elvin Jones is brilliant. This is the least satisfying album with horns and the reason is the cello. The trumpet and flute create interesting voicings in ensemble. The cello gets lost in the mix. (But then, I may be biased. The only jazz cello solos I’ve heard that I really liked were Oscar Pettiford’s in his big band, and Pettiford stood head and shoulders above the other–low-voiced string instrument players of his age.)Mal/4 Trio, Left Alone and Impressions: The best songs on the three trio albums are the Waldron originals, for instance, the fast-paced “Splidium-Dow,” which kicks off Mal/4 Trio. There is however an interesting revoicing of Sonny Rollin’s “Airegin” on Left Alone. The sound is so distorted on the 1959 album, Impressions, that it is hard to listen to. Sound distortion is a too common problem on many of these Real Gone Jazz compendia but it is acute here: the piano sounds tinny and out of tune. It’s not pleasant.The Quest: The Quest is the best of the albums, a classic of the time. And for good reason! In Dolphy and Ervin, Waldron had the best horn front line he had ever worked with. They were confident, powerful players who blended well in ensemble and offered contrasting styles in solo. I saw Booker Ervin live one time, playing with Randy Weston: his bustling Texas bop-out-of-swing style plays well with Waldron’s restrained intellectualism. Dolphy, angular and abstract, was a master at finding interesting ways to start his solos: listening to him was like hearing some weird creature talk, fervently and at length. I have less enthusiasm for Ron Carter’s cello, weedy and slightly off pitch when bowed, but his cello blends well enough in the three-horn passages. The overall ensemble sound is glorious and the compositions are among the best that Waldron wrote at that time.So, not everything works here. On one album, it’s bad remastering. On others, some musicians are less effective than others. But the cumulative effect of listening to these seven classic albums is to remind you that there was more going on in jazz in the late fifties than just Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor on one side against the rest of mainstream jazz (growing tired and stale) on the other. Mal Waldron was a unique and important jazz stylist and his work is exciting to listen to.

This four CD set arrived in the mail undamaged. I realize some have criticized RGJ's CD case packaging but I happen to like it, at least the front, back and inners can be replaced using regular CD cases. I'd had problems with RGJ's CD quality control in the past, specifically disc 4 of The Three Sounds set, so I tested the disc using NERO Disc Scanner, all four CDs passed fine. Now onto the music, here's the track list:CD 1:Mal-1, 1956: 1 Stablemates 2 Yesterdays 3 Transfiguration 4 Bud Study 5 Dee's Dilemma 6 ShomeMal/2, 1957: 7 Potpourri 8 J.M's Dream Doll 9 Don't Explain 10 The Way You Look TonightCD 2:Mal/2, 1957, continued: 1 From This Moment On 2 One By OneMal/3 Sounds, 1958: 3 Tension 4 Ollie's Caravan 5 The Cattin' Toddler 6 Portrait Of A Young Mother 7 For Every Man There's A WomenMal/4 Trio, 1958: 8 Splidium-Dow 9 Like Someone In Love 10 Get Happy 11 J.M's Dream DollCD 3:Mal/4 Trio, 1958, continued: 1 Too Close For Comfort 2 By Myself 3 Love SpanLeft Alone, 1959: 4 Left Alone 5 Catwalk 6 You Don't Know What Love Is 7 Minor Pulsation 8 Airegin 9 Mal Waldron Interview - The Way He Remember's Billie HolidayImpressions, 1959: 10 Les Champs Elysees 11 C'est FormidableCD 4:Impressions, 1959, continued: 1 Ciao! 2 You Stepped Out Of A Dream 3 All The Way 4 All About Us 5 With A Song In My HeartThe Quest, 1961: 6 Status Seeking 7 Duquilty 8 Thirteen 9 We Diddit 10 Warm Canto 11 Warp And Woof 12 Fire WaltzI know RGJ sometimes use LP sources but these albums appear to be from CD, so the sound quality is excellent. The albums are in chronological order that necessitates breaks between CDs mid album, a small inconvenience. The documentation is minimal but accurate.Mal Waldron was different from the many other jazz pianists recording in the late 50s and early 60s. Perhaps it was his mixed musical background in R&B, as jazz altoist (initially), classical pianist and arranger that led to these interesting albums. I already had Mal-1 and liked the standout track Yesterdays. Mal/2 has John Coltrane throughout on tenor sax, enuff said, and diverse supporting musicians. Mal/3 uses flute, plucked cello and Elaine Waldron's vocal to great effect. Mal/4, a simple trio setting, the pianist really shines, with better piano sound than previous albums. Left Alone, a tribute to Billie Holliday, contains an interview discussing the pianist years supporting Lady Day. Impressions is a musical journey. The Quest is a famous recording with Eric Dolphy, if you like Eric Dolphy you probably already have it.All in all, a great introduction to the talented Mal Waldron, I hope you enjoy these CDs as much as I did.

I am no jazz expert. But there's something about Mal's style that takes me to place no one else can. There's an exquisite melancholy in some of his pieces. He has a way of revisiting motifs with subtle changes that build to almost unbearable statements of . . . well I don't know what to call it. I just know it's a place worth revisiting. Back in high school I used to play his solo piano album Blues For Lady Day endlessly just to get back there.However, don't start with the first disc. It's totally fine, but not remarkable. After playing them all once, I re-started with disc four and three and found them much more satisfying

Mal Waldron is not that well known to the casual Jazz listener, but his recorded work is of a very high quality, and rarely fails to entertain and satisfy. The Classic Albums series allows the listener to purchase 7 albums, many of them rare, for the price of one.If you are a mainstream Jazz fan, this is almost a must. Great stuff from the golden age of modern jazz.

This great jazz pianist has been allowed to slip too far out of sight. This seven LP on four CD collection is a wonderful tour of Waldron's music. Highly recommended.

Good solid jazz of the pre/early bop variety. If you like that period you'll like this.

A collection of albums by a lesser known master.

Jackie McLean only plays on 1 track of Left Alone but his solos on 5 tracks of Mal 2 are terrific. His only recording with John Coltrane in the group.

This superb collection was my introduction to Max Waldron, after being intrigued by a haunting description of 'Left Alone' in David Mitchell's book 'Ghostwritten', a track included on Waldron's album of the same name on this 7-album, 4 cd set. For me, it's been a lovely discovery.There's a mixture of hard bop & ballads throughout, delivered from trio to septet assemblies. There's a mouth-watering selection of jazz 'greats', including Gigi Gryce, John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Art Farmer, Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin & Idrees Suliemen, and that only includes those on horns. Drummers vary throughout, but Julian Euell is the most prominent bassist, while even cello makes a welcome appearance, adding warmth & depth to a couple of albums here, thanks to Calo Scott & Ron Carter.However, the real joy of this set is not the individual parts, illustrious though the names may be, but the way in which Waldron's arrangements allow the process to gell, and really lift off in the more driven numbers, such as 'Potpourri' & 'Status Seeking', while creating a richly memorable warmth to the slower pieces, including the achingly beautiful 'Left Alone' with McLean's sax plunging a deep well, and the rich chocolate of 'Duquilty', with Dolphy's clarinet exquisitely hanging over 'Warm Canto'.Sound quality is good throughout, with individual instruments well identified, and there is a similar energising drive in the two trio albums here. This lovely collection features some very classy jazz, and some very interesting & unusual keyboard work from Waldron, which put me in mind of Monk at times, especially in 'Mal 3' & 'Impressions'. Most of these albums are highly rated in Penguin, Gramophone & All Music jazz guides, and the savings over buying these individually is substantial. Well worth exploring.

this whole series is so excellent .this is a terrific set to have .particularly the one with eric dolphy .some amazing expressive playing .high reccomending for this set .and quick well packaged great service .best wishes

Stupendous bargain with first class jazz musicians

Very good, highly recommended!

Excellent value.