Mal Waldron

Mal Waldron (1925–2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger active from the early 1950s until his death, recording over 100 albums as a leader and 70 more as a sideman. He was Billie Holiday’s regular accompanist from 1957 until her death in 1959, served as house pianist for Prestige Records in the late 1950s, and composed “Soul Eyes,” later a widely recorded jazz standard. A 1963 heroin overdose left him with severe cognitive and physical impairment requiring roughly three years to recover from. From the 1980s on he formed a close and prolific duo partnership with Steve Lacy, pairing piano and soprano saxophone on their own compositions and Thelonious Monk repertoire.