Mal Waldron - Mal/2 (Mono)
Piano – Mal Waldron [click here to see more vinyl featuring Mal Waldron]
Alto Saxophone – Jackie McLean (A2, B2-3) [click here to see more vinyl featuring Jackie McLean]
Drums – Art Taylor (A2, B2, B3) [Click here to see more vinyl featuring Art Taylor]
Drums – Ed Thigpen (A1, A3, B1)
Trumpet – Bill Hardman A2, B2-3), Idrees Sulieman (A1, A3, B1)
Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Sahib Shihab (A1, A3, B1)
Bass – Julian Euell
Written by Mal Waldron (A2, B1, B3), Cole Porter (A1), Dorothy Fields (A3), Jerome Kern (A3), Arthur Herzog Jr. (B2), Billie Holiday (B2)
1LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Mono
Studio
Record Press : Record Technology Incorporated
Label : Craft Recordings Original Jazz Classics Series
Original Label : Prestige
Recorded April 19 (A2, B2, B3) and May 17 (A1, A3, B1), 1957 in NYC at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey
Recording by Rydy Van Gelde
Produced by Bob Weinstock
Mastered and lacquer cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
Cover design by Ken Deardoff
Liner Notes by Don Gold and Ira Gitler
Cover painting by Richard Jennings
Originally released in November 1957
Reissued in July 2023
Tracks:
Side A:
- From This Moment On
- Don't Explain
- The Way You Look Tonight
Side B:
- One by One
- J.M.'s Dream Doll
- Potpourri
Reviews :
“Before becoming an expatriate in 1965 and eventually settling in Munich, pianist Mal Waldron cut several stateside hard bop albums full of his idiosyncratic and Monk-ish piano work, and featuring choice contributions by some of the music's finest. For this 1957 date, Waldron worked with a stellar sextet interchangeably manned by John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Idrees Sulieman, Art Taylor, and others. Bookended by the pianist's ebullient "Potpourri" and the avant-noir blues "One by One," the set also includes a fetching cover of Cole Porter's "From This Moment On" and a beautifully complex arrangement of Billie Holiday's "Don't Explain." (Waldron was Holiday's accompanist for the last two years of the singer's life until her death in 1959.) Solo highlights include McLean's keenly constructed solo on Waldron's "J.M.'s Dream Doll" (dedicated to the alto saxophonist and his wife) and Sulieman's incredibly rich and supple trumpet work on "One by One." For his part, Coltrane is in good form throughout, save for a few sour notes and some faltering solos; at this time Coltrane was still coming into his own and a few years shy of the masterful hard bop sides he would record for Atlantic. Waldron here leads a potent crew on an engaging and original set of arrangements. A cut above many of the relatively straightforward and blues-based hard bop dates of the time.” AllMusic Review by Stephen Cook
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.81 / 5 ; Analog Planet : Music 10 / 11, Sound 9 / 11