Free at Last (Mal Waldron album)

Free at Last is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1969 and released on the ECM label.[1] The album was the first release on the influential European jazz label.

Free at Last
Studio album by Mal Waldron
Released	1969
Recorded	November 24, 1969
Genre	Jazz
Length	41:29
Label	ECM
Producer	Manfred Eicher
Mal Waldron chronology
Set Me Free (1969) Free at Last (1969) Tokyo Bound (1970)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Tom Hull	B+ ()[3]

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars stating "The music overall is not that memorable or unique but it does have its unpredictable moments and finds Waldron really stretching himself."[2] JazzTimes, in its retrospective analysis of ECM's first 50 years, commented on the label's first release that: "It's doubtful that anyone who heard Free at Last in its day took particular notice of its fledgling label, but an unheeded message is still a message: We're on a different wavelength."[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Mal Waldron except as indicated

1. "Rat Now" – 10:18
2. "Balladina" – 5:05
3. "1-3-234" – 4:05
4. "Rock My Soul" – 11:23
5. "Willow Weep for Me" (Ann Ronell) – 7:34
6. "Boo" – 3:24

• Recorded at Studio Bauer in Ludwigsburg, West Germany on November 24, 1969.

Personnel

• Mal Waldron – piano
• Isla Eckinger – bass
• Clarence Becton – drums

References

1. Mal Waldron discography accessed February 22, 2011
2. Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed February 22, 2011
3. Hull, Tom (28 February 2018). "Streamnotes". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
4. West, Michael J. (May 14, 2019). "JazzTimes 10: Landmark ECM Albums". JazzTimes. Retrieved May 27, 2019.