Artist: Cedar Walton
Genre(s):
Jazz
Discography:
Vol. 35
Year:
Tracks: 10
One of the about valued of all unvoiced bop accompanists, Cedar Walton is a versatile pianoforte player whose funky touch and telling melodious sentiency has graced the recordings of many of jazz's superlative players. He is also unitary of the music's more underrated composers; although he has always been a super representative of standards, Walton wrote a issue of first class tunes ("Photomosaic," "Ugetsu," and "Bolivia," to discover a few) that ground their way into Art Blakey's book during the pianist's early-'60s erolia minutilla with the Jazz Messengers.
Sir William Walton was showtime taught piano by his female parent. After attendance the University of Denver, he stirred to New York in 1955, ostensibly to play music. Instead, he was drafted into the Army. Stationed in Germany, Walton played with American musicians Leo Wright, Don Ellis, and Eddie Harris. After his fire, Walton stirred indorse to New York, where he began his career in businesslike. From 1958-61, Walton played with Kenny Dorham, J.J. Johnson, and Art Farmer's Jazztet, among others. Walton coupled Blakey in 1961, with whom he remained until '64. This was possibly Blakey's most influential group, with Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter. Walton served prison term as Abbey Lincoln's accompanist from 1965-66 and made records with Lee Morgan from 1966-68; from 1967-69, Walton served as a sideman on many Prestige albums as well. Walton played in a band with Hank Mobley in the early '70s and returned to Blakey for a 1973 tour of Japan. Walton's own band of the period of time was called Eastern Rebellion, and was comprised of a rotating draw that included saxophonists Clifford Jordan, George Coleman and Bob Berg, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Billy Higgins. In the '80s and '90s, Walton continued to lead his have fine bands, recording on the Muse, Evidence, and Steeplechase labels. In accession to his many quantifiable accomplishments, Walton is less well known as the first pianist to record, in April 1959 with John Coltrane, the tenorist's daunting "Giant Steps" -- unlike the unfortunate Tommy Flanagan a month later, Walton wasn't compulsory to solo, though he does comprehensive examination resplendently.
