Mal Waldron

Following his dreams to become one of the premier jazz pianists of his era, Mal Waldron provided musical accompaniment with his remarkable talent to such jazz luminaries as Billie Holiday and John Coltrane. Waldron was born in New York City in 1926, and graduated from Queens College with a B.A. in composition before recording his earliest works with Ike Quebec in 1950. Waldron formed his own quartet after becoming involved with Charles Mingus' jazz workshop in 1954, and subsequent years would find Waldron performing closely with Holiday in her later years. The French-, German-, Italian-, and Japanese-speaking musician relocated to Europe in 1965, where he gained increasing popularity. Waldron's "Soul Eyes" would quickly become a jazz standard. On December 2, 2002, Mal Waldron died, due to complications resulting from cancer in Brussels, Belgium. He was 77.

~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide