Photos: Rudy Lu
Happy birthday Billie Holiday! She would have been 109 on Sunday. To celebrate god daughter Mala Waldron and her trio performed an intimate concert at the 107 Henry Street gallery in Kingston. Mala is a singer, pianist and composer in her own right and is the daughter of Mal Waldron, well known pianist and composer for Prestige Records so performed with John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Jackie McLean among others. He was also Billie Holiday’s last piano player from 1953 till her death in 1959.
To honor her godmother on her birthday, she played and sang through one set of songs that have been associated with the swing era and Billie Holiday. And the trio sure did swing and with ease.There was joy and playfulness through most of the music. Christopher Dean Sullivan playfully plucked and tapped his bass in rhythm and at times scatting along. Tony Lewis swung with ease. No part of his kit was left unplayed. Mala’s command of the keyboard and the joy in her vocals made sure that the crowd was paying attention, even though the crowd was also clearly enjoying the rhythm section’s antics.
The set opened with that joyful description of flirtation, “Them There Eyes’. The unadulterated romance continued with the 1930’s Gershwin tune “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”. “The Way You Sang Off Key” was humorously sang off key by Sullivan. “Our Love Is Here To Stay” also represented the swinging love part of Billie’s repertoire.
Billie was also a songwriter. Probably her best known tune is “God Bless The Child” which was covered by Blood, Sweat & Tears. It is partially autobiographical, inspired by a fight Billie had with her mother regarding money. Billie cowrote a song with Mala’s Dad on a cross-country plane flight. Unfortunately, “Left Alone” was never recorded by Billie. She passed on before she could record it. This truly sad song was presented here with that melancholy mood.
The lovelorn side of Billie’s repertoire continued with “Good Morning Heartache”, “You Don’t What Love Is’ and “Sweet Embraceable You”.
A latin beat was added to “Falling In Love Again”, giving it a bouncy feel.
The encore was one of the most played compositions in the jazz can, the ballad “My Funny Valentine”.
The Rhythm Salon series will continue on Sundays at 3pm until June. Follow Transact Cultural Services on Facebook for details.
Setlist:
Them There Eyes, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, God Bless The Child, Our Love Is Here To Stay, Good Morning Heartache, Left Alone, You Don’t Know Love Is, Take All Of Me, Sweet Embraceable You, If You Fall In Love
Encore: My Funny Valentine
Gallery:
