Mal Waldron • The Opening

 

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.
The Opening, recorded in November 1970 (a year before he had recorded Free at Last - the first ever release by the iconic ECM label) is a solo piano setting from a period in which he mainly performed this way between his visits to Japan and back home in the States.
When you hear Mal Waldron’s sound, you hear the New York sophistication, the stride piano thing, the Ellington-Monk continuum, the Bud Powell sound — and of course, Mal Waldron, as Charles Mingus admonished him always to retain…
Waldron often seemed at his best alone or one-to-one - he was immensely creative in duos with Lacy and with South African bassist Johnny Dyani and when played solo the music showed him at his most determinedly minimalist, building solos out of hypnotically minuscule variations. 

///////

Mal Waldron, un pianista con un estilo melancólico, rítmico e introvertido, ha demostrado a lo largo de su carrera una gran flexibilidad que le ha permitido adaptarse tanto al hard bop como a estilos más libres.
The Opening, grabado en noviembre de 1970 (un año antes de que grabara Free at Last, el primer lanzamiento del emblemático sello ECM), es un álbum de piano solo de una época en la que actuaba principalmente de esta manera entre sus visitas a Japón y su regreso a Estados Unidos.
Cuando se escucha el sonido de Mal Waldron, se percibe la sofisticación neoyorquina, el stride piano, la continuidad de Ellington-Monk, el sonido de Bud Powell y, por supuesto, Mal Waldron, tal y como Charles Mingus le aconsejaba que conservara siempre...
Waldron solía dar lo mejor de sí mismo cuando tocaba solo o en dúo: era inmensamente creativo en dúos con Lacy y con el bajista sudafricano Johnny Dyani, y cuando tocaba en solitario, su música mostraba su lado más decididamente minimalista, construyendo solos a partir de variaciones hipnóticamente minúsculas.

Tracks:
1 - Right On 07:18 
2 - Of Pigs And Panthers 09:23 
3 - Cry Out 03:20 
4 - Die Fludel 05:32 
5 - Petite Gemaux 06:35 
6 - Sieg Haile 10:13 


Credits:
Mal Waldron (piano)

Recorded at the Centre Culturel Américain in Paris, November 19, 1970. 

This file is intended only for preview!
I ask you to delete the file from your hard drive or device after reading it.
thank for the original uploader