By 1957 Mal Waldron had become resident piano player and composer for the Prestige label and here, for his second leader album, he is joined by select members of his own group; together with some very special guest players. Climbing on board for Mal/2 (a mixture of originals and standards) are John Coltrane and Jackie McClean, who both make their creative presence felt as the album kicks in.

Here is hard bop playing at its best, with Coltrane in fine form as he roars through ‘Potpourri’, wrangling with the central theme before letting loose with a flowing solo that has enough gaps in it to let Waldron’s guiding hand show through. For his part, Waldron shows true leadership with a solo that, although elaborate, wisely never strays too far from the main composition. A similar tactic is used on his own ‘JM’s Dream Doll’ where Jackie McClean’s earthy alto and Julian Euell’s bass come together. Here, the mood is more sedated, a moody nightclub aura hangs over the piece like a wreath of cigarette smoke as Waldron gently guides the tune along – before gently stubbing it out with a single note from his keyboard.

Less is agreeably more on Mal/2, especially on his arrangement of the Billie Holiday standard ‘Don’t Explain’ with Art Taylor’s steady drum sweep and muted cymbal being the rhythmic underpinning for Bill Hardman’s minimalist trumpet call that slowly unfurls as the piece evolves. Out of the eight compositions collected here, this is the most memorable (as well as being a fitting memorial to Holiday who Waldron had worked with) and acts as an early reveal of the free jazz style he would later embrace. Deep one moment and playful the next (the standards ‘Falling In Love With Love’ and ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ being joyous examples of the latter), Mal/2 is a showcase for Waldron’s unique talent, as well as being a spotlight for the fellow players and composers he chose to share it with.