Rat NowParis 70

Description

Strictly Limited Edition 3000 copies.
Re-mastered from the original stereo tapes by François Lê Xuân.
Cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Mastering.
180 gr Vinyl pressed in Marciac, France by Garcia & Co.
Tip-on deluxe gatefold sleeve with photos by Thierry Trombert.

A never-before released Mal Waldron Trio 1970 live recordings.
First official release with the full permission and cooperation of the Mal Waldron Estate & INA (Institut National de lAudiovisuel).
This was recorded inside the Palais dOrsay Hotel in Paris on March 10, 1970. The citys International Sound Festival was being held at the time, and this recording was aired in the Jazz Vivant radio show presented by André Francis. The performance here is a first on record, and it captures the renaissance of pianist Mal Waldron, fronting a trio comprised of drummer Christian Vander (co-founder of the group Magma) and bassist Jean-François Catoire (a long-time partner of Vander). Waldrons career was reviving after his European exile, a lengthy hiatus tied to his patient process of reconstruction after years spent fighting his addiction.

In 1969 he recorded Free at Last for the brand-new ECM label (it was their very first production) and two years later he would do the same for the Enja label. Before that, in 1970, he had also toured in Japan for the first time, and it would make him instantly popular there.

Before the present concert recorded on March 10, 1970, Mal Waldron had appeared the previous year (a summer gig) in a club at Antibes, the Early Bird, playing with the same comrades, namely Christian Vander and Jean-François Catoire. Many critics had praised that trios quality in the media, and the late Maurice Cullaz, a great admirer of Waldron, even went so far as to say he had rarely heard these three musicians play in such an extraordinary manner.

So it was quite logical, when the trio got together again in March in Paris, that the same cohesion would be apparent in their opening tune Rat Now, a theme that had appeared on the Free at Last album recorded for ECM (November 1969) only four months before this concert. The pianist plays throughout in his characteristic style, the left hand accentuating a constant undertow while his right hand releases a controlled energy. Christian Vanders unbridled percussion gives a free dimension to this tune, which lends a kind of austerity that shows the fundamental influence that the great Thelonious Monk had wielded over Waldrons piano style, alongside that of Bud Powell: After I fell into the depths, I couldnt find the lyrical side of my playing again. The way I expressed myself had become more dense; it had refocused itself more. That legacy is even more palpable in the tune that follows, Champs Elysées, a composition from the album Impressions (1959). The melody lines, impregnated by the blues, mingle gleefully with the whirling figures provided by Mal and his partners.
Rock My Souland its heady tempo, where once again we can measure the strength and complementary nature of Waldrons left hand, transmitting a breakneck rhythm beneath the controlled lyricism coming from his right handalso appeared among the pianists recently recorded compositions on the Free at Last session. Vanders tumultuous drumming here feeds the flow with a robust jazz that is brimming with vigorous phrases; and when the tempo dies down, the double bass of Jean-François Catoire instils a truce that fools no-one: it heralds a feverish finale.
The final theme Mount Fujiyama was inspired by a trip to Japan that Waldron made in the winter of 1969-70. Here the music carries the imprint of serenity, yet once again it is the reflection of Mal Waldrons deep-rooted New York heritage.

Romain GROSMAN Translation by Martin DAVIES

Musicians:

Mal Waldron (Piano)
Jean-François Catoire (Bass)
Christian Vander (Drums)