Customer Reviews

Mal 2

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are two sextet groups featured on this 66 min CD. Tracks 1-5 have Bill Hardman-trumpet, Jackie McLean-alto sax, and John Coltrane-tenor sax. Tracks 6-8 feature Idrees Sulieman-trumpet Sahib Shihab-alto sax and Coltrane again on tenor. They recorded a full LPs worth of music with the first group then scatched 2 tunes,brought in a second group and recorded 3 more. This CD gives you all of it. Indeed one of the originally omited tunes the 11 min- Falling In Love With Love- is my favorite. McLean plays a great solo between Hardman and Coltrane. It's all pretty much hard boppish with Mal, as on MAL 1, acting pretty much like a sideman, although he takes the first solo on- J.M.'s Dream Doll and plays the melody front and back on Blue Calypso which has a lot of 4/4 blowing passages on it.----Another good sextet date from this period is drummer Art Taylor's TAYLOR'S WAILERS with Donald Byrd, Jackie McLean, and Charlie Rouse in the front line.

This was one of the first Mal Waldron albums (yes it was an album) that I ever owned and I love it now as much as I did 20 some odd years ago. It's more straight-ahead and traditionally melodic than his later work.

Great stuff! Underrated album features a passionate Trane. The extra tracks are great - the calypso blues, and Falling In Love With Love (this version is one of the best). Can listen to this over and over again with ease.