The Mighty Warrior by Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy
Like many venturesome jazz musicians, pianist Mal Waldron and saxophonist Steve Lacy found greater appreciation—as well as more work—in Europe than America. This previously unissued 1995 concert recording from Belgium finds the two old friends in the company of a small improvisatory combo sensitive to their musical direction. The new language of ‘60s jazz was still spoken here.
Lacy’s “Longing” is a sonic action painting of drips and splashes from his fluttering sax against canvas of bass and percussion. Waldron comes to the fore on his compositions, grounded in deconstructed blues. Melancholy verges on the austere as he carries “Snake Out” and “Variations on a Theme by Cecil Taylor” at an urgent tempo. Waldron never loses sight of melody for long.
The two-disc set includes a booklet with an appreciation for Waldron and Lacy by Adam Shatz, author of the insightful biography of activist-psychiatrist Frantz Fanon, The Rebel’s Clinic.
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