Abandonnés au fond de la forêt ou de hangars vétustes, des cadavres comme on n'en a jamais vu, mutilés de façon rituelle, porteurs de messages cabalistiques semblables à ceux que laissait derrière lui le Bourreau de Portland, avant qu'une balle dans la tête ne vienne à bout de sa carrière…
There aren't too many bands out there that can say they have been around for a decade, let alone a quarter of a century. For those few that manage to hit the twenty five year mark, some sort of celebration is usually in order. Some might go on a world tour and appeal to their aging fanbase, while others may record an album or release a collection of shelved demo tracks for the diehard followers to eat up. Of course, Therion have never been known to follow in the footsteps of others. Although the operatic symphonic metal style is all-too common in current metal culture, Therion carved out their own niche, unshackling from their death metal roots and taking a more sophisticated and experimental approach to the symphonic style. With that in mind, it's no surprise that Therion didn't decide to celebrate things the regular way; instead, they went ahead and did an album of 1960's French pop song covers…
Before becoming an expatriate in 1965 and eventually settling in Munich, pianist Mal Waldron cut several stateside hard bop albums full of his idiosyncratic and Monk-ish piano work, and featuring choice contributions by some of the music's finest. For this 1957 date, Waldron worked with a stellar sextet interchangeably manned by John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Idrees Sulieman, Art Taylor, and others. Bookended by the pianist's ebullient "Potpourri" and the avant-noir blues "One by One," the set also includes a fetching cover of Cole Porter's "From This Moment On" and a beautifully complex arrangement of Billie Holiday's "Don't Explain." (Waldron was Holiday's accompanist for the last two years of the singer's life until her death in 1959)…
Digitally remastered edition including three bonus tracks. In April-September 1957, John Coltrane and Mal Waldron embarked on a series of all star sessions which were issued on the albums MAL/2 and WHEELIN' AND DEALIN', with further material from the sessions appearing later on an LP titled THE DEALERS. This release contains the complete sessions including all existing material from the aforementioned LPs, plus three further Coltrane-Waldron collaborations recorded that same year.
One More Time is an intimate portrait of two neglected masters with a third master, Steve Lacy, stepping in to add his low-key tip of the hat. Mal Waldron and Jean-Jacques Avenel are the focus of this release that serves as a tribute to Waldron, one of jazz's most versatile pianists who died in 2002. One More Time was recorded and released in 2002, and features Steve Lacy's long time bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel who often played and recorded with Waldron. Two tracks feature Steve Lacy and two tracks feature Waldron's solo piano. This is an exceptional recording. The sound quality is superb and Waldron's crystalline technique and classical background are more evident than on most of his recordings.
Searching In Grenoble: The 1978 Solo Piano Concert is a previously unissued recording of jazz icon Mal Waldron's mesmerizing performance at the "Five Days of Jazz" series in Grenoble, France on March 23, 1978.