Prior to this 1958 session, Mal Waldron’s fourth as a leader and first in a trio context, the New York-born pianist was better known as a composer than as a soloist, but work during that period as Billie Holiday’s accompanist gave new scope to his music. “The Holiday-Waldron combination,” annotator Jack Maher observed, “has provided Mal with a large repertoire of tunes and has sharpened and enlarged his concept of playing.” Critic John Tynan agreed, writing in Down Beat that “his keyboard touch is crisp and sure; the tonal patterns, passing figures, and arpeggios fall from his fingers like chestnuts at picking time.” The album contains three Waldron originals and four standards.

with Addison Farmer, Kenny Dennis