My Dear Family

Mal Waldron | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 23, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Evidence
• ASIN: B0000014MY
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #484,982 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Footprints

2. Left Alone

3. Sassy

4. Sakura Sakura (Cherry Blossom)

5. Here's That Rainy Day

6. Jean-Pierre

7. Red Shoes

8. My Dear Family

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great underrated pianist, June 12, 2000

By 

Umberto (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Dear Family (Audio CD)

I discovered this disc by accident, casually listening to the radio. It is now one of my favorite CDs. It is a shame that Mal Waldron is such an underrated and underappreciated pianist, when he obviously has such great talent. I am at a loss at how he is not better known in the US. The CD is consistently good but the high point is Sakura Sakura, based on a Japanese folk song. The repetitive, hypnotic patterns are well translated to the jazz form and are a great pleasure to listen to. Mal's percussive use of the keyboard is trance-like. His interpretation of Miles Davis' Jean Pierre is also a superb rythmic treat. Although this CD is quite different from his earlier efforts (The Quest being his greatest), you can still recognize Mal's unique and wonderful style.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great late-period Waldron; mellow like a fine Belgian beer, June 11, 2003

By 

Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Dear Family (Audio CD)

Mal Waldron represents what's best about jazz. Never a superstar, he nevertheless labored in the jazz vineyards for many years, eventually developing a unique approach to the piano and his own very distinctive voice. His musical credits are simply astounding--he played with many of the all-time greatest jazz artists, including Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Steve Lacy, Ron Carter, Gigi Grice, Eric Dolphy, Barney Wilen, Booker Ervin, and, finally, Jim Pepper, for whom he seemed to have a special affinity and whose work together perhaps marks the crowning achievement of each man's lengthy career. There are more than three score records of Mal Waldron as leader listed under his name listed on Amazon.com alone. All told, there are probably well over 100 sessions featuring him as leader.

This particular record finds him in a mainly quartet setting with Reggie Workman on bass, Pheeroan akLaff on drums, and Eddie Henderson on trumpet. The surprise here is Grover Washington sitting in on three cuts (and acquitting himself brilliantly, I might add). But the heart and soul of this music is the interaction between piano, bass, and drums. Waldron, Workman, and akLaff seem to have a natural affinity for each other, most clearly on display, perhaps, in the middle section of the electric-period Miles Davis blues, "Jean Pierre," my favorite cut on the disc. Each man gets his day in the sun with a brief solo, but it's really more of a rhythm-section ensemble passage.

Waldron himself has many memorable moments, especially his mournful solo on the Japanese popular song, "Red Shoes," where he delves deep and masterfully uncovers its mournful heart. Another favorite bit is his remarkable accompaniment to Eddie Henderson muted solo on "My Dear Family," which magically segues into a marvelously poignant piano solo remarkable for its understated beauty.

Not a lot of fireworks here, but a deeply satisfying slooow burn that more than makes up for the lack of pyrotechnics.

5.0 out of 5 stars THE ESSENCE, February 11, 2010

By 

Nikolaus Arnold "studionyc" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Dear Family (Audio CD)

Everything one could love about JAZZ is here.
The good stuff. It is here. JAZZ.
JAZZ is the best and this is real JAZZ.
I love JAZZ music. I love it every day of my life and this
record makes me very happy.
Jazz makes this world a BETTER PLACE!
God, this is a very very very fine recording.
More intelligent than FOX 5 in 200 years!