MALA WALDRON

Mala Waldron,vocalist, pianist and songwriter has been performing professionally since she was 15 yrs. old, when she joined a local R&B band. Within a year, the band was signed to RCA records with the release of a single "Take Little Love." After high school, she went on to expand her knowledge of music studying jazz piano, voice and composition at SUNY College of Old Westbury with Makanda Ken McIntyre. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Mala's recordings as a featured artist are "He's My Father," a duo with her father, jazz pianist and composer, Mal Waldron, and "Lullabye," her solo debut (both on Tokuma Communications/Japan; re-issues on 3361Black). She has had the pleasure of working with many notable artists including Andy Bey, Makanda Ken McIntyre, Don Braden, Jeanne Lee, Cecil McBee, George Cables, James Williams, Billy Drummand, Victor Lewis, John Betsch, James "Jabbo" Ware ME WE & THEM Orchestra, Hilton Ruiz, Andrei Strobert and Warren Smith.

Mala has toured in Japan, France and Belgium as well as in the U.S., performing most recently at the Medgar Evers Jazz Festival and the Port Jefferson Jazz Festival where she shared the stage with Kenny Rankin. She has been featured in Swing Journal, Jazz Life and GQ (Japan). Oceanlight/Synergy Records released a multi-artist CD "Smooth Jazz and R&B Scenes", which contains a track written and recorded by Mala entitled "Please Say You Do," as well as tracks by Jon Lucien, Bernadette Brown, Chuck Loeb and Bob Baldwin and many others.

When asked about her father (most known for his composition "Soul Eyes" recorded with John Coltrane), Mala smiles, saying how proud she feels to be carrying on her father's legacy. "I feel honored when people recognize me as the daughter of someone who has made such an important contribution to jazz." She admits that she gets the most personal gratification when she is recognized for her own unique and distinctive talents. Indeed, Mala has developed a style of her own that is most evident in her original music. One can hear her unmistakable jazz roots, and just as clearly you can hear tinges of the various other musical influences from her childhood -- the R&B, the calypso, the classical, the funk, the gospel -- it's all in there, and more.