Mala Waldron
Interview 26 October
2006
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Tell me about yourself, where you from, your family
I was born
in New York City to parents who were jazz pianists. Many people know of
my father's work, but my mother also earned a living as a full time
musician. After my parents divorced, my dad eventually ended up
living in Munich, Germany. My mom moved us to the new york suburb
of Long Island. My parents were always very supportive &
encouraging of my performing and songwriting.
And your father was Mal Waldon so you
must have been exposed to music like, well always!
Yea - pretty
much! When I was small I remember hearing either my dad or mom
rehearsing music on the piano at home. I also remember visiting
with John & Alice Coltrane when we lived in Queens, NY. Later, I was
strongly influenced by my older brother's record collection.
He had everything from all the Motown stuff - The Temptations, Marvin
Gaye- to Sam & Dave, Aretha, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, and
one of my favorite groups: Sly & the Family Stone.
You’ve been performing professionally
since age 15, what was your band. Then you got signed to RCA – how did that go,
tell me about that period
My high
school boyfriend asked if I wanted to join his band, they called
themselves "Liquid Pleasure." I started doing local clubs
& dances with them on keyboards and background vocals.
Things moved pretty quickly and within a year's time we were signed to RCA
records. Our first single was a disco track called "Take a Little
Love." I remember jumping up & down and screaming the first time
I heard our record on the radio. Then, seeing it on
the charts, it seemed surreal. But I remember not
understanding why the label signed us - a funk/r&b band with original
material- only to have us record disco music written by other
people. It didn't help that I didn't like disco - actually i
hated it! I realized in hindsight that the label was
just taking advantage of the huge disco trend that was taking the
country by storm. I was frustrated too, because the music I was
writing, which had a definite jazz bent, had no
outlet. Soon after, the label failed to fulfill
their contractual obligations and we were released from the agreement.
Then you studied music
With
the record deal out of the picture, college seemed like the right move, so I
enrolled at the state university of new york at Old Westbury, where
I studied under the direction of multi-reedist, Makanda Ken McIntyre.
And you have worked and recorded with
your father?
My father
and I would often talk about performing &/or recording together.
It finally happened in 1995 when we toured Japan (along with vocalist, Jeanne
Lee) and recorded a CD called "He's My Father." The title track
was a song I wrote & presented to Dad as a gift for his 70th birthday.
Your ‘CV’ shows that you have worked
ith a whole bunch of well respected artists, so you’ve done the circuit and
learned with the best?
I really have been blessed to
work with some incredible musicians over the years.
And you’ve toured all over the world –
have you been to the UK?
I've toured in Japan
mostly, as a result of my previous releases there. I also had the
opportunity of performing with my father in Belgium and France, but I've
never been to the U.K.
Tell me about Lullabye, and how well it
did?
The "Lullabye" CD was originally released in Japan
in 1996. We did several promotional tours there, but I understand there
was no real radio support, so that was challenging. It actually was
re-issued on another label in 2003. The recording only utilized acoustic
piano, upright bass and violin. It has a very different feel from
"Always There," even though it consists of 6 of my original
songs. I wrote specifically for that instrumentation and the
recording has a very laid back feel to it.
Was the plan always to be a solo
artist?
No, not from the beginning. I'd
always worked as a "side artist" supporting other vocalists
and lead instrumentalists. I'm not sure when it happened, it was pretty
gradual. I was performing a lot and feeling more confident as a
leader. Then I started feeling that I could better convey my
original material myself. I guess the time just
seemed right to go for it.
Whilst you have jazz roots there’s a
whole bunch of other influences in there.
What do you like and who are your influences, from all fields
Aside from
the jazz influences, the other styles of music that moved me
were funk, latin, soul & gospel. I listened to a lot
of Earth Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Seawind, Graham
Central Station, Herbie Hancock & George Duke. Vocally I'd
say Donny Hathaway touched me in a deep way, also Chaka Khan. I
really wanted to sing like them. It took some time to find my own unique
sound, and to embrace what made my voice unique.
Who out there right now do you like.
There are so
many! Some of the female vocalists out there now that I like
are: Dianne Reeves, Rachelle Ferrell, Lalah Hathaway, Cassandra Wilson,
Amel Larriuex, Jill Scott, India Arie. For male artists, I like
Sting, Frank McComb, Raul Midon, Chris Walker, Jamie Cullum,
D'Angelo.
Tell me about the album, Always There,
how long did it take to put together
I began recording some of the
tracks in 2000, but ended up not being able to use any of
those recordings. Once I'd found and started working steadily
with the current musicians on the recording, we began tracking in 2003.
So, not counting the false start in 2000, it took 3 years to
complete.
You pleased
with it?
I'm very pleased with it. I mean,
any musician will tell you there are some things you might want to change
here and there, or improve upon, but at some point you have to look at the big
picture and just put the thing out there!
You wrote all
the songs (except one) – what do you draw from
Like most songwriters, I draw from
life. Sometimes it's my personal experience. Sometimes it's
something a person might say that strikes me as interesting.
Sometimes I'm inspired because I need a certain type of tune in my
repertoire. For instance, at one point, I realized I had too many
ballads and mid-tempo tunes but no fast ones. "Maybe it's not
so" came about that way. Sometimes I'll start with an
interesting bass line and see where that takes me - that's what happened with
"Whispers in the Wind." Then "Always There" was
written at a time when I was feeling very low and unhappy. I went to the
piano just to channel that sadness, and the song kind of wrote itself
and was very uplifting.
What tracks caught attention.
It's funny - several tracks
caught attention depending on the format of the station or preference of the
reviewer. But in general Whispers in the Wind, Because of You, Ellie,
Can't Stop and Light My Fire are tracks that seemed to attract the
most attention.
Any interest from overseas
There's been quite a bit of
overseas interest including the Soul of Amsterdam (website & internet
radio) in the Netherlands, Jazz-not-Jazz in Germany, SoulExpress.net in Finland
and lots of interest in the U.K., such as Soul Brothers Records and Crazybeat
Records. In addition to European markets, Always There has
been licensed by Columbia Music in Japan. The new release,
which will include 2 bonus tracks, is set for November 24, 2006.
Who were the
key people in helping you put the album together.
Mainly it was
my boyfriend, Andy. He knew how
much I wanted to make this record and gave me so much support. We made most of the business decisions
together. He's also in the printing
business, so he was responsible for the artwork. Michael "T.A" Thompson expressed an interest in
wanting to produce the tracks. I
trusted that he and I were on the same page conceptually, and as I expected,
the process moved along very smoothly.
I see your
percussionist works with Mighty Sparrow, I actually saw him at a Tsunami
Benefit concert at the UN in New York, I wonder if he was there then?
I don't
believe Mike was on that concert, having worked with the Mighty Sparrow
during an earlier period.
But performance is what its all about? Tell
me about your show.
The CD has a very
"live" sound to it, not much in the way of special effects or
"bells & whistles" so we're able to reproduce the sound in
our live show. Still we like to be loose at times with the
arrangements, because we enjoy playing off of one another and sometimes that'll
take us into some interesting territory which is totally spontaneous. I love
when that happens! The other thing about the show is that people consistently
comment on how the focus is really on all the musicians equally, and not
specifically all on me. I may be the "artist" and
we're doing my material, but it's the way we interpret the material as a unit
that makes it such a great collective statement.
I also think it's
very obvious to anyone who's seen us perform live, that we play from our hearts
and enjoy what we're doing. We have fun with it and that playfulness
and joy of playing carries over to our audiences.
Do you use
the same people live as you did on the album
Yes, which is
great because by the time we'd recorded some of the tunes we'd been performing
them for some time and felt very comfortable. Other tracks like
"Ellie," "Can't Stop," and "Why" were
recorded after having only played them once or twice
before. I trusted that because of our history of playing together and
the intuitive way we interact musically, we'd be able to pull it
off. I'm really happy with the result.
Are you
working regularly
As a
freelance musician, I work regularly, although not always as a leader of my own
project. I try to keep this unit performing at least 2 - 3x a
month; more if we're on the road.
Are you
strongly independent or are you looking for a deal
That's a hard
question to answer, but I'm leaning towards saying I'm "strongly
independent" in that I'm enjoying making my own decisions regarding my
career. However, if the right deal came along from someone who shared a
compatible artistic vision, I'd definitely consider it.
Where do you
see yourself in the marketplace
While my
music isn't "super" commercial, I consider it totally
accessible. What I'm doing is very much a blend of my musical
influences. I call it "Jazz/Soul" - it doesn't necessarily
fit neatly into either the jazz or soul category, but it's an interesting blend
that brings something fresh & interesting to the table.
What are you
doing now, are you still promoing the album.
We're
preparing for a tour of Asia sponsored by Hennessy-Moet which
starts November 7. I'm hoping to expand our fanbase over
there. I'm pretty excited about it, plus it'll be our first time on
the road as a group.
Is Europe on the horizon?
I'd
like to think so! Let's just say I'm totally open to the possibility of
performing in the U.K. and Europe. My father was quite popular in those
territories, having lived, recorded & performed in Europe since the late
50's up until he passed away in 2002.
Whats
happening next
Aside
from more possible touring, I'm thinking ahead to doing some recording for a
new CD.
Lots of
things happening in New York, we must meet when I come over next. Who do you
connect with in New York.
I work with several groups in New
York. One project just had a CD release in September. That's
with 'voicist' Barbara Sfraga & CSQ; the CD is entitled Timelessness
Frozen in Time (SyncTimiCity). I co-wrote many of the tracks on this
CD along with the other band members. I play keys & sing background
vocals. It's a very unique project combining several musical influences
such as jazz, world, latin & pop. I also recently recorded with a
group called Arusha, headed by bassist Chris Weigers. I sang lead on a
cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" as well as providing backing
vocals on many other tracks. The project was co-produced by Weigers
and Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets) and is expected to be released early next
year.
I see you
have Joseph Diamond in your links, have you worked together. I’ve met him a
couple of times when I’ve been over?
Yes, Joseph
is an amazingly talented pianist/composer as well as a good friend. I think we work really well with one
another. He's been so
helpful in giving me advice and leads because he's already released two CDs
independently ("Not Your Typical New Yorker" and "Island
Garden.")
What other
things do you like to do
Aside from
music? Well, I love inspirational movies and books. I've always
enjoyed learning to speak foreign languages although I'd hardly consider
myself fluent in any of them! I also enjoy bicycle riding. I'd
love to learn to make pottery some day, something about the process
is intriguing to me. Maybe it's that scene from the movie,
"Ghost!" I'd love to write for film &/or
television. I like the freedom of creating different styles of music that
venture into other genres; not necessarily the kinds of material I'd
record myself.
Anything you’d
like to add.
I just want to thank you, Mike, for
your support & interest in my music. I appreciate
this opportunity to share myself and what I'm doing with your
readers. If anyone would like to contact me directly, I can be reached
through my website: www.malawaldron.com
Thanks for
your time.
Mike
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