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In Reply to: Mal Waldron has died. posted by Dmitry on December 02, 2002 at 19:21:56:
Mal Waldron was (is?) one of the most underrated jazz musicians, at least as far as his exposure in the USA is concerned. He did, of course, choose to spend most of his life in Europe where he apparently was able to enjoy a much greater degree of success than might have been available to him here. Unfortunately a sad commentary on the cultural malaise which afflicts this country with regard to jazz musicians. And his passing is yet another reminder of just how old I am getting, since I can to this day clearly recall seeing his appearance on the great CBS TV broadcast "The Sound of Jazz" in 1957 along with, among many others, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Henry "Red" Allen, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Jimmy Giuffre, Pee Wee Russell & Gerry Mulligan. (What, I wonder, are the chances these days of such a show appearing on a major network?)
Follow Ups:
Do any of you know where Waldron started out? I ask because when I was in high school in Plainfield, NJ, there was a dance band in the area led by a Waldron. This would have been in the early and middle 1950's. I know this is nuts, but I've always wondered and would love to clear the air.
he graduated from Queens college and began recording and playing in the early 50's. It doesn't say where he was born, however. The dance band must have been one of several gigs he had at the time.
One of my favorite of all time, his work with Steve Lacy, Jim Pepper and Jeanne Lee is just phenomenal, maybe not the greatest technician ever but very few if any played with so much soul.
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