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Cedar Walton
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Genres
Jazz
Role
Jazz Pianist
Name
Cedar Walton
Instruments
Piano
Occupation(s)
Musician
Birth name
Cedar Anthony Walton, Jr.
Died
August 19, 2013, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Cedar Anthony Walton, Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band before establishing a long career as a bandleader and composer. Several of his compositions have become jazz standards, including "Mosaic", "Bolivia", "Holy Land", "Mode for Joe" and "Fantasy in D".
Walton was born and grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother Ruth was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas. Walton cited Nat King Cole, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Art Tatum as his major influences on piano. He began emulating recordings of these artists from an early age.
After briefly attending Dillard University in New Orleans, he went to the University of Denver as a composition major originally, but was encouraged to switch to a music education program targeted to set up a career in the local public school system. This switch later proved extremely useful since Walton learned to play and arrange for various instruments, a talent he would hone with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.
Walton was tempted by the promise of New York City through his associations with John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and Richie Powell, whom he met at various after-hours sessions around the city of Denver, Colorado. In 1955, he decided to leave school and drove with a friend to New York City. He quickly got recognition from Johnny Garry, who ran Birdland at that time.
Later life and career
Walton was drafted into the U.S. Army, and stationed in Germany, cutting short his rising status in the after-hours scene. While in the Army, he played with musicians Leo Wright, Don Ellis, and Eddie Harris. Upon his discharge after two years, Walton picked up where he left off, playing as a sideman with Kenny Dorham (on whose 1958 album This Is the Moment! Walton made his recording debut), J. J. Johnson, and with Gigi Gryce. Joining the Jazztet, led by Benny Golson and Art Farmer, Walton played with this group from 1958 to 1961. In April 1959, he recorded an alternate take of "Giant Steps" with John Coltrane, though he did not solo.
In the early 1960s, Walton joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers as a pianist-arranger for three years, on the same day as Freddie Hubbard. In this group, which also featured Wayne Shorter, he demonstrated a keen sense of arranging in originals such as "Ugetsu" and "Mosaic". He left the Messengers in 1964 and by the late 1960s was part of the house rhythm section at Prestige Records, where in addition to releasing his own recordings, he recorded with Sonny Criss, Pat Martino, Eric Kloss, and Charles McPherson. For a year, he served as Abbey Lincoln's accompanist, and recorded with Lee Morgan from 1966 to 1968. During the mid-1970s, he led the funk group Mobius. Walton arranged and recorded for Etta James from the mid 1990s helping her to win a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday (RCA Victor) in 1994.
Many of Walton's compositions have been adopted as jazz standards, including "Firm Roots", "Bolivia", "Holy Land", "Mode for Joe" and "Cedar's Blues". "Bolivia" is perhaps his best-known composition, while one of his oldest is "Fantasy in D", recorded under the title "Ugetsu" by Art Blakey in 1963.
In January 2010, Walton was inducted as a member of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters.
After a brief illness, Walton died on August 19, 2013, at his home in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of 79.
As leader/co-leader
1967: Cedar! (Prestige)
1968: Spectrum (Prestige)
1969: The Electric Boogaloo Song (Prestige)
1969: Soul Cycle (Prestige)
1972: Breakthrough! (Cobblestone) with Hank Mobley
1973: A Night at Boomers, Vol. 1 (Muse)
1973: A Night at Boomers, Vol. 2 (Muse)
1974: Firm Roots (Muse)
1974: Pit Inn (East Wind)
1975: Mobius (RCA)
1975: Eastern Rebellion (Timeless) with George Coleman, Sam Jones & Billy Higgins
1976: The Pentagon (East Wind)
1976: Beyond Mobius (RCA)
1977: Eastern Rebellion 2 (Timeless) with Bob Berg, Sam Jones & Billy Higgins
1977: First Set (SteepleChase)
1977: Second Set (SteepleChase)
1977: Third Set (SteepleChase)
1978: Animation (Columbia)
1979: Eastern Rebellion 3 (Timeless) with Curtis Fuller, Bob Berg, Sam Jones & Billy Higgins
1979: Charmed Circle (HighNote)
1980: Soundscapes (Columbia)
1980: The Maestro (Muse) with Abbey Lincoln
1981: Piano Solos (Clean Cuts)
1981: Heart & Soul (Timeless) with Ron Carter
1982: Among Friends (Theresa)
1983: Eastern Rebellion 4 (Timeless) with Curtis Fuller, Bob Berg, Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, David Williams & Billy Higgins
1983: The All American Trio (Baystate) with Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette
1985: Cedar's Blues (Red)
1985: The Trio 1 (Red)
1985: The Trio 2 (Red)
1985: The Trio 3 (Red)
1985: Cedar Walton (Timeless)
1985: Bluesville Time (Criss Cross)
1986: Blues for Myself (Red)
1986: Cedar Walton Plays (Delos)
1988: Standards with the VIP Trio (California Breeze)
1988: Standards Vol 2 with the VIP Trio (California Breeze)
1990: Duo (Red) with David Williams [also released as Off Minor]
1990: As Long as There's Music (Muse [1993])
1990: Mosaic (Musicmasters) with Eastern Rebellion
1992: Cedar Walton at Maybeck (Concord Jazz)
1992: Simple Pleasure (Musicmasters) with Eastern Rebellion
1992: Manhattan Afternoon (Criss Cross)
1994: Just One of Those... Nights at the Village Vanguard (Musicmasters) with Eastern Rebellion
1996: Composer (Astor Place)
1997: Roots (Astor Place)
2001: The Promise Land (HighNote)
2002: Latin Tinge (HighNote)
2005: Underground Memoirs (HighNote)
2005: Midnight Waltz (Venus)
2006: One Flight Down (HighNote)
2008: Seasoned Wood (HighNote)
2009: Voices Deep Within (HighNote)
2010: Cedar Chest (HighNote)
2011: The Bouncer (HighNote)
With the Timeless All Stars
1982: It's Timeless (Timeless)
1983: Timeless Heart (Timeless)
1986: Essence (Delos)
1991: Time for the Timeless All Stars (Early Bird)
As sideman
With Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt
God Bless Jug and Sonny (Prestige, 1973 [2001])
Left Bank Encores (Prestige, 1973 [2001])
With Art Blakey
Mosaic (Blue Note, 1961)
Three Blind Mice (Blue Note, 1962)
Caravan (Riverside, 1963)
Ugetsu (Riverside, 1963)
Buhaina's Delight (Blue Note, 1963)
Free for All (Blue Note, 1964)
Kyoto (Riverside, 1964)
Indestructible (Blue Note, 1964)
Golden Boy (Colpix, 1964)
Buhaina (Prestige, 1973)
Anthenagin (Prestige, 1973)
With Ray Brown
Something for Lester (Contemporary, 1977)
With Donald Byrd
Slow Drag (Blue Note, 1967)
With Joe Chambers
The Almoravid (Muse, 1974)
With Junior Cook
Somethin's Cookin' (Muse, 1981)
With Ornette Coleman
Broken Shadows (Columbia, 1972 [1982])
With Johnny Coles
Katumbo (Dance) (Mainstream, 1971)
With John Coltrane
Giant Steps (Atlantic, 1959) [alternate takes]
With Sonny Criss
Up, Up and Away (Prestige, 1967)
The Beat Goes On! (Prestige, 1968)
With Kenny Dorham
This Is the Moment! (Riverside, 1958)
With Kenny Dorham and Cannonball Adderley
Blue Spring (Riverside, 1959)
With Teddy Edwards
It's All Right! (Prestige, 1967)
With Art Farmer
The Time and the Place (Columbia, 1967)
The Art Farmer Quintet Plays the Great Jazz Hits (Columbia, 1967)
Homecoming (Mainstream, 1971)
Yesterday's Thoughts (East Wind, 1975)
To Duke with Love (East Wind, 1975)
The Summer Knows (East Wind, 1976)
Art Farmer Quintet at Boomers (East Wind, 1976)
Voices All (Eastworld, 1982) with Benny Golson
With Curtis Fuller
Soul Trombone (Impulse!, 1961)
Smokin' (Mainstream, 1972)
With Benny Golson
Take a Number from 1 to 10 (Argo, 1961)
This Is for You, John (Timeless, 1983 [1987])
With Dexter Gordon
Tangerine (Prestige, 1972 [1975])
Generation (Prestige, 1972)
With Steve Grossman
Love Is the Thing (Red, 1985)
With Slide Hampton
Roots (Criss Cross, 1985)
With Eddie Harris
Cool Sax from Hollywood to Broadway (Columbia, 1964)
The In Sound (Atlantic, 1965)
Mean Greens (Atlantic, 1966)
The Tender Storm (Atlantic, 1966)
Excursions (Atlantic, 1966–73)
How Can You Live Like That? (Atlantic, 1976)
With Jimmy Heath
The Quota (Riverside, 1961)
Triple Threat (Riverside, 1962)
With Joe Henderson
Mode for Joe (Blue Note, 1966)
With Billy Higgins
Soweto (Red, 1979)
The Soldier (Timeless, 1979 [1981])
Once More (Red, 1980)
Bridgework (Contemporary, 1987)
Billy Higgins Quintet (Sweet Basil, 1993)
With Freddie Hubbard
Hub Cap (Blue Note, 1961)
Here to Stay (Blue Note, 1962 [1979])
Bolivia (Musicmasters, 1991)
With Bobby Hutcherson
Highway One (Columbia, 1978)
Farewell Keystone (Evidence, 1982 [1992])
With Milt Jackson
Milt Jackson at the Museum of Modern Art (Limelight, 1965)
Born Free (Limelight, 1966)
Milt Jackson and the Hip String Quartet (Verve, 1968)
Goodbye (CTI, 1973)
Olinga (CTI, 1974)
"Milt Jackson at the Kosei Nenkin" (Pablo, 1976)
"Bags' Bag" (Pablo, 1979)
It Don't Mean a Thing If You Can't Tap Your Foot to It (Pablo, 1984)
"Reverence and Compassion" (Warner Bros., 1993)
With Etta James
Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday (RCA Victor, 1994)
Time After Time (RCA Victor, 1995)
12 Songs of Christmas (Private Music, 1998)
Blue Gardenia (Private Music, 2001)
With The Jazztet (Art Farmer and Benny Golson)
Big City Sounds (Argo, 1960)
The Jazztet and John Lewis (Argo, 1961)
The Jazztet at Birdhouse (Argo, 1961)
With Bjorn Johansen
Take One (Odin, 1987)
With J. J. Johnson
Really Livin' (Columbia, 1959)
J.J. Inc. (Columbia, 1961)
With Sam Jones
Seven Minds (East Wind, 1974)
Something in Common (Muse, 1977)
With Clifford Jordan
Spellbound (Riverside, 1960)
Starting Time (Jazzland, 1961)
Bearcat (Jazzland, 1962)
These are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly (Atlantic, 1965)