Mal Waldron

Malcolm Earl Mal Waldron was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from university. In the following dozen years or so Waldron led his own bands and played for those led by Charles Mingus, Jackie McLean, John Coltrane, and Eric Dolphy, among others. During Waldrons period as house pianist for Prestige Records in the late 1950s, he appeared on dozens of albums and composed for many of them, including writing his most famous song, Soul Eyes, for Coltrane. Waldron was often an accompanist for vocalists, and was Billie Holidays regular accompanist from April 1957 until her death in July 1959.

Mal Waldron was born in New York City on August 16, 1925, to West Indian immigrants. His father was a mechanical engineer who worked on the Long Island Rail Road. The family moved to Jamaica, Long Island when Mal was four years old. Waldrons parents discouraged his initial interest in jazz, but he was able to maintain it by listening to swing on the radio. Waldron had classical piano lessons from the age of around seven until he was about 16. He then became inspired to play jazz on tenor saxophone when he heard Coleman Hawkins 1939 recording of Body and Soul, but bought an alto saxophone, unable to afford a tenor. He played alto for local bands that performed for dances, bar mitzvahs, Spanish weddings, frequently taking over the pianists role when other musicians took their solos.70

Source: Wikipedia