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Mal Waldron


romualdo

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In the very earl 60's Mal Waldron released a truckload (more than 10?) of LP's on the Music Minus One Label.

What's the story behind this - record & track titles suggest easy listening jazz - was it a budget enterprise?

I'm sure none of this material has ever been near the commercial digital domain

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without knowing anything specific about Waldron's: Music Minus One records are like those Aebersolod practice discs - you just have the rhythm section and can add melody and solos at home while the LP is playing... iirc some of these had someone like Jerome Richardson play these things on one side of the LP while the other side was rhythm only

Edited by Niko
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These are currently available from MMO:

MMO7007.jpg

http://www.musicminusone.com/blues-minus-p-963.html

MMO5010.jpg

http://www.musicminusone.com/eight-search-drummer-p-842.html

Others may be too, but they have repackaged/renamed a lot of their older items....

Found this (out of stock) at DG:

waldro_mal%7E_forpianis_101b.jpg

One of a number of excellent sessions that Waldron put together for the Music Minus One label – and like the rest, a set of tunes designed to allow an amateur jazz player a chance to sit in with a high quality band. Waldron arranged and conceived the set, but since it's "for pianists only", he's not actually playing on the record. That chore is left up to a hip quartet of Teddy Charles on vibes, Al Shackman on guitar, George Duvivier on bass, and Ed Shaughnessy on drums. Titles include "How About You", "Try A Little Tenderness", "Rose Room", "Cabin In The Sky", "Over The Rainbow", "Blue Moon", and "Taking A Chance On Love". (Includes the original booklet! Cover has some splitting on the top seam, some edge wear, and a small stain on back.) © 1996-2011, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

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Found this (out of stock) at DG:

waldro_mal%7E_forpianis_101b.jpg

One of a number of excellent sessions that Waldron put together for the Music Minus One label – and like the rest, a set of tunes designed to allow an amateur jazz player a chance to sit in with a high quality band. Waldron arranged and conceived the set, but since it's "for pianists only", he's not actually playing on the record. That chore is left up to a hip quartet of Teddy Charles on vibes, Al Shackman on guitar, George Duvivier on bass, and Ed Shaughnessy on drums. Titles include "How About You", "Try A Little Tenderness", "Rose Room", "Cabin In The Sky", "Over The Rainbow", "Blue Moon", and "Taking A Chance On Love". (Includes the original booklet! Cover has some splitting on the top seam, some edge wear, and a small stain on back.) © 1996-2011, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

I actually have this LP. It's a gatefold and it carries scores for the tunes in it. These are albums for the buyer to play along with. Let me know if you need more info.

As for the market for this kind of record, according to a survey carried out by Down Beat in 1959, their average reader was a 26-year old male who played an instrument.

F

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Albums from the MMO label not only provided rhythm accompaniments but also made available duets series.

Musicians like Zoot Sims, Joe Wilder, Hal McKusick, Bob Wilber, Burt Collins, Kenny Davern all recorded for MMO.

There is even a Jimmy Raney play-along album that featured Stan Getz!

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For pianists only was conceived and arranged by Mal Waldron. It carries an attached 12" x 12", 20-page booklet with a two-page introduction by Waldron and the rest are scores of the tunes (for piano, including chord symbols and lyrics). In his intro, Waldron gives a general explanation of the album and then gives an outline of each of the tunes and his arrangements.

Waldron1.jpg

Waldron2.jpg

F

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I've got an alto MMO LP - I think it's by Konitz - got it in a long since closed vinyl store as a freebie and haven't held it in my hands for I guess 10 years... got to hunt for it!

It has Konitz soloing with the rhythm section on one side and just the rhythm backings on the other.

With it, there's a booklet with transcriptions of Konitz' solo, as far as I remember... no idea where it is right now.

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  • 1 month later...

Many years ago, Stereo Review, sent me an album by Catina Savina (I think that was the name) for review. I had never heard of this singer, but she had interesting accompaniment, a mixture of greatness and mediocrity. The rhythm section was in the former category, two reed players in the latter, as was Ms. Savina—she would not have passed an American Idol audition. The liner notes (I wish I had them to share) spoke glowingly of this truly dreadful singer, and explained that a couple of the accompanying musicians could not be identified "for contractual reasons".

A search through the Music Minus One discography confirmed my suspicion. She was singing to a MMO album, they added the two hopeless reed players, and two members of the rhythm section were not identified because they were no longer among the living!

Rather than follow my first inclination and ignore this fraud, I decided to expose it.

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Many years ago, Stereo Review, sent me an album by Catina Savina (I think that was the name) for review. I had never heard of this singer, but she had interesting accompaniment, a mixture of greatness and mediocrity. The rhythm section was in the former category, two reed players in the latter, as was Ms. Savina—she would not have passed an American Idol audition. The liner notes (I wish I had them to share) spoke glowingly of this truly dreadful singer, and explained that a couple of the accompanying musicians could not be identified "for contractual reasons".

A search through the Music Minus One discography confirmed my suspicion. She was singing to a MMO album, they added the two hopeless reed players, and two members of the rhythm section were not identified because they were no longer among the living!

Rather than follow my first inclination and ignore this fraud, I decided to expose it.

Wow, that is some story. When you said you decided to expose it, does that mean you wrote about it or simply alerted Stereo Review editors or did you take another tack? I'd be interested in seeing what you wrote if you've still got it in your archives. On a related front, it reminds me of the recent Joyce Hatto scandal -- the British classical pianist whose recordings were found to have been copies of other famous pianists repackaged and released under her own name.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/joyce-hatto-notes-on-a-scandal-438102.html

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Many years ago, Stereo Review, sent me an album by Catina Savina (I think that was the name) for review. I had never heard of this singer, but she had interesting accompaniment, a mixture of greatness and mediocrity. The rhythm section was in the former category, two reed players in the latter, as was Ms. Savina—she would not have passed an American Idol audition. The liner notes (I wish I had them to share) spoke glowingly of this truly dreadful singer, and explained that a couple of the accompanying musicians could not be identified "for contractual reasons".

A search through the Music Minus One discography confirmed my suspicion. She was singing to a MMO album, they added the two hopeless reed players, and two members of the rhythm section were not identified because they were no longer among the living!

Rather than follow my first inclination and ignore this fraud, I decided to expose it.

LOL - love it!! :lol:

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  • 5 years later...

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