Mal Waldron

Born: August 16, 1925

Born in New York City, Waldron's jazz work was chiefly in the hard bop, post-bop and free jazz genres. He is known for his distinctive chord voicings and adaptable style, which was originally inspired by the playing of Thelonious Monk.

After obtaining a B.A. in music from Queen's College, New York, he worked in New York City in the early 1950s with Ike Quebec, "Big" Nick Nicholas, and rhythm and blues groups. He worked frequently with Charles Mingus from 1954 to 1956 and was Billie Holiday's regular accompanist from 1957 until her death in 1959. He also supervised recording sessions for Prestige Records, for which he provided arrangements and compositions (including the jazz standard "Soul Eyes"). After Holiday's death he chiefly led his own groups.

Remembering Sheila Jordan, New Releases By Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine, Catina DeLuna, the Airmen Of Note, Richard Johnson, Jorge Garcia. Patricia Brennan & More

by Mary Foster Conklin
September 1, 2025

This broadcast includes new releases from the Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine, Catina DeLuna and Otmaro Ruiz, the Airmen Of Note, Richard Johnson, Jorge Garcia plus a single from Patricia Brennan, with birthday shoutouts to lyricists Dorothy Parker and Carolyn Leigh, pianist Mal Waldron (100!), Nora Germain, Fostina Dixon, Anita Wardell, Naomi Moon Siegel, ...

Ornette Coleman's and Horace Silver's "Lonely Woman" �� A Disambiguation

by Artur Moral
July 27, 2025

Reality is filled with confusion and misunderstandings; some are suggestive or creative, while others are disappointing or, worse, malicious. The jazz world is no stranger to the first type: specific compositions are often confused or misidentified as if they were the same. Usually, this happens because of similar melodies or titles that are sometimes identical. This ...

Steve Davis, Thelonious Monk, Greg Murphy, Jazzmeia Horn & Roy Hargrove

by Joe Dimino
June 15, 2025

From the electric grooves of Simon Paterson's Electric Gumbo, we launch into the 910th episode of Neon Jazz with a jolt of fresh energy from his 2025 release It's On. The journey continues with a soul-stirring, newly unearthed gem from the legendary Roy Hargrove, featured on the posthumous album Grande-Terre--a timeless reminder of his genius. We ...

OJC Odds & Ends: From Cal Tjader to Mal Waldron

by C. Andrew Hovan
May 12, 2025

Once the vinyl renaissance confirmed that record labels could bring in a steady income just by tapping their holdings, they began combing their archives to fuel a steady stream of reissues. With a catalog of more than 1.2 million songs, Concord Records was uniquely positioned to capitalize on this resurgence. Its Craft Recordings subsidiary has emerged ...

Live from the Archive

by Patrick Burnette
January 23, 2025

There's a new Record Store Day ritual in the jazz world--archival live releases from one of the many labels Zev Feldman has a hand in running. This year's two RSD days saw several releases on labels like Resonance, Reel to Real, and Elemental Music and the boys take a gander at one release from each of ...

Mal Waldron, John Hollenbeck, and Daniel Hersog

by Jerome Wilson
January 16, 2025

This program, from May 11, 2021, features music from diverse sources, such as Mal Waldron with Jeanne Lee. Dizzy Gillespie, John Hollenbeck, Daniel Hersog, and Mark Murphy. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 John Hollenbeck ...

2024 in Review

by Jerome Wilson
January 8, 2025

This show reviews my favorite jazz releases for 2024, including new recordings and newly discovered older concert performances. Artists heard on the show include Fay Victor, Darius Jones, Ron Miles, Frank Carlberg, and David Murray. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of ...

I Dischi del 2024 secondo Ludovico Granvassu

by Ludovico Granvassu
January 2, 2025

Spesso molti articoli sulle “migliori uscite dell'anno" iniziano con una premessa quasi apologetica ("questi non sono necessariamente 'i migliori album dell'anno,' ma 'i miei preferiti';" “�� tutto soggettivo;" “domani avrei scelto titoli diversi;" “ho potuto selezionare solo dieci album," ecc.)? Queste dichiarazioni sembrano riflettere il disagio del redattore, costretto a riassumere un vasto ecosistema artistico selezionando ...

Ludovico Granvassu's Garden of Jazzy Delights 2024

by Ludovico Granvassu
December 31, 2024

Have you noticed how many “best of the year" listicles start with an apologetic preamble ("these are not necessarily 'the best albums of the year' but 'my favorites';" “it's all subjective;" “tomorrow I might have chosen different titles;" “I could only select ten albums" etc.)? Those disclaimers channel the writer's discomfort of having to summarize a ...