Mal Waldron – Black Glory (Enja, 1971) and Plays the Blues: Live at the Domicile (Enja, 1971)

Mal Waldron (p); Jimmy Woode (b); Pierre Favre (d)

June 29, 1971 

Mal Waldron is one of my favorite pianists.  When I first began thinking about a Jazz-in-the-1970s project, I knew that Waldron's music would have an important place in it.  From my point of view, he's one of the central figures of the decade.  That said, I'm often surprised at the number of listeners who focus exclusively on the music from the beginning of his career, when he was still based in the U.S.  I'm sure that has a great deal to do with the fact that his early records were more readily available in the U.S. and his European (and Japanese) records were not.  Nonetheless, this situation is very strange to me because I think Waldron's artistry took a huge leap forward after he moved to Europe.  (Waldron settled in Munich in 1967.)

I don't think it's a coincidence that Waldron's music developed rapidly after he left the U.S.  In 1963, Waldron experienced a severe mental breakdown, brought on by a heroin addiction.  Waldron's departure for Europe allowed him to escape the pervasive drug use on the American jazz scene.  Like many other jazz musicians who chose to live as expats in Europe, Waldron also expressed digust with the "fierce, cutthroat competition, just to get a job" in the U.S., as well as the discrimination he faced as a black man and artist.  Europe must have felt like an escape, and moving there prompted an artistic re-birth.

Waldron recorded Black Glory and Play the Blues at the Domicile jazz club in Munich.  The LPs were made for Enja, a brand new label started by German jazz fans Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber.  Black Glory was their very first release.  (It's interesting that Waldron also made the very first recording for Manfred Eicher's ECM label, Free at Last, in 1969.)  Since both Black Glory and Play the Blues were made during a single night, I've decided to treat them as one entity, one body of work.  

More Mal Waldron
Waldron made an incredible number of recordings in the 1970s.  Here are some of my favorites:
- Tokyo Bound (Victor, 1970)
- On Steinway (Paula/Overseas, 1973)
- Blues for Lady Day (Black Lion/Arista-Freedom, 1973)
- Up Popped the Devil (Enja, 1974)
- Hard Talk (Enja, 1974)
- Jazz A Confronto 19 (Horo, 1975)
- Signals (Arista-Freedom, 1977)
- Moods (Enja, 1978)
- Mingus Lives (Enja, 1979)

Please note that this list doesn't include any of Waldron's collaborations with others as a co-leader.  I'll revisit his work as a co-leader later in the survey.