Cedar Walton

For over 25 years, pianist Cedar Walton has enjoyed an uptempo career, which never seems to slow down. Maintaining a non-stop itinerary, Walton has accompanied a litany of Jazz greats while also fronting his own successful groups. Born January 17, 1934 in Dallas, Texas, Walton set his sights on a career in music at an early age. An after- hours gig at the Denver Club introduced him to notable musicians like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane, who would sit in with Walton's group when they passed through town.

From there, Walton ventured to New York and began to work locally with Lou Donaldson, Gigi Gryce, Sonny Rollins and Kenny Dorham before landing his first touring job with J.J. Johnson. Soon after, the pianist made his recording debut backing Kenny Dorham on the Riverside album Kenny Dorham Sings. He also made two records with J.J. Johnson' s group on Columbia Records before joining the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet, a group he toured and recorded with for two years. Walton's next major musical association was with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. During his three years tenure with Blakey, Walton stepped forward a composer, contributing originals like Mosaic and The Promised Land to the group's recordings for the Blue Note and Riverside labels.

Walton left the Jazz Messengers to lead rhythm sections and trios throughout the New York club and recording studio circuits. His debut recording as a leader came in 1966 with the release of Cedar on Prestige Records. From the late '60s to early '70s, Walton kept steady company with bassist Sam Jones and drummers Louis Hayes and Billy Higgins in multi-purpose trios that occasionally annexed saxophonists Clifford Jordan, George Coleman or Bob Berg for specific tours and albums.

During the '80s, Walton embarked on a variety of interesting projects, which have grown into lasting affiliations. In 1981, he formed a trio with Ron Carter and Billy Higgins, which clicked right from the start. Around the same time, Walton became part of the Timeless All-stars, a sextet also featuring Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Curtis Fuller, Buster Williams and Billy Higgins. Walton also ignited rhythm sections behind the likes of Milt Jackson, Frank Morgan, Dexter Gordon and vocalists Ernestine Anderson and Freddy Cole, and held the piano chair of The Trumpet Summit Band.

Walton's efforts have been well documented on record. In addition to a host of dates as a sideman, the pianist has been recording with his own groups at a prolific rate, as evidenced by an assortment of albums on the Timeless, Discovery, Red Baron and Steeple Chase record labels.

Cedar Walton One Flight Down

by Thomas Conrad
September 1, 2024

They are thinning out: the ranks of pianists who can trace their lineage directly back to primary sources like J.J. Johnson, the early Jazz Messengers of Art Blakey, and the Jazztet of Art Farmer and Benny Golson. In the last few years, we have lost Tommy Flanagan, Mal Waldron, Roland Hanna, Dodo Marmarosa, Russ Freeman, Frank Hewitt, and, most recently, John Hicks. Producer Bob Porter once said of Cedar Walton, “By the time he came to make his ...

Album Review

Ron Carter & Art Farmer: Live at Sweet Basil

Read "Live at Sweet Basil" reviewed by Scott Gudell

by Scott Gudell
July 5, 2024

If one wanted to capture a 'who's who' snapshot of the jazz icons of the mid-'70s, into the '80s and beyond, one of the best ways to start was to see if they had added their name to the list of artists who recorded and/or released a 'Live at Sweet Basil' collection. The New York City club debuted as a restaurant in 1974 and, within a few years, artists including Art Blakey, Gil Evans, Cecil Taylor, McCoy Tyner, Mal Waldron ...

Book Review

The Jazz Masters: Setting the Record Straight

by Richard J Salvucci
April 14, 2022

The Jazz Masters. Setting the Record Straight. Peter C. Zimmerman 324 Pages ISBN: # 978-1-4697-3743-1 University Press of Mississippi 2020 There is nothing quite like an interview for immediacy and intimacy. While some people are willing to talk endlessly about themselves, you sometimes find they have nothing to say. Then there are those who say little but turn out to be intriguing. Those, you want to interview. Of course, they may be ...

Album Review

Joe Henderson: The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Studio Sessions

Read "The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Studio Sessions" reviewed by Scott Gudell

by Scott Gudell
November 22, 2021

If an artist stamps his jazz passport with any one of these labels--Blue Note, Verve, Milestone--it's pretty much a guarantee that you've arrived in style. Tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson has traveled with all three and more. The 2021 reissue from the prestigious Mosaic Records focuses on Henderson's 1960s tenure with Blue Note offers a new opportunity to experience an abundance of rich and creative jazz from the decade. Big band and bop were duking it out in the ...

Album Review

Clifford Jordan: These Are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly

Read "These Are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
May 6, 2021

These Are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly is an oft overlooked item in the canon of tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, whose chef d'oeuvre was undoubtedly Glass Bead Games (Strata-East, 1974), one of the most exalted jazz albums of its era. But These Are My Roots, which was originally released on Atlantic in 1965 and has in 2021 been reissued on vinyl by British audiophile label Pure Pleasure, is of more than passing interest. The hard bop ...

Album Review

John Coltrane: Giant Steps: Remastered & Super Deluxe Editions

Read "Giant Steps: Remastered & Super Deluxe Editions" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
September 4, 2020

A date for your diary... 18 September 2020. That is when Atlantic / Rhino releases two cracking new editions of John Coltrane's first landmark album, Giant Steps (Atlantic, 1960). The main event is enhanced audio quality, which has noticeably more presence than any previous reissue. The double CD and vinyl Remastered Edition and digital-only Super Deluxe Edition consist of material which has been newly remastered by John Webber at Air Studios in London. The Remastered Edition includes ...

Album Review

Hank Mobley: The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70

Read "The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 8, 2020

The music world has changed considerably since Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie founded their boutique reissue label Mosaic Records back in 1983. From its inception, vinyl was still the preferred format, shortly to be overtaken by the popularity of the compact disc. At the cusp of vinyl's recent resurgence, Mosaic briefly got back into that format only to find themselves on the brink of closing up shop. Fortunately, the powers that be have forged on and recent CD boxed sets ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Cedar Walton

Source: Michael Ricci
January 17, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Cedar Walton's birthday today!

For over 25 years, pianist Cedar Walton has enjoyed an up-tempo career, which never seems to slow down. Maintaining a non-stop itinerary, Walton has accompanied a litany of Jazz greats while also fronting his own successful groups. Born January 17, 1934 in Dallas, Texas, Walton set his sights on a career in music at an early age. An after- hours gig at the Denver Club introduced him to notable musicians like ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Cedar Walton

Source: Michael Ricci
January 17, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Cedar Walton's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Cedar Walton

Source: Michael Ricci
January 17, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Cedar Walton's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Cedar Walton

Source: Michael Ricci
January 17, 2018

All About Jazz is celebrating Cedar Walton's birthday today!

Recording

Cedar Walton: V.I.P. Trio

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 26, 2017

It's fair to say that in the 1980s, Japan cared more about high-quality jazz recordings and live performances than the American market. Anyone who frequented record stores in the States then and into the 1990s surely recalls coming across impeccable Japanese reissues of American jazz albums on vinyl and CD. Back then, Japan was riding high, economically, and Japanese companies and individuals who loved jazz had the money to record high- end albums exclusively for the Japanese market. In 1988, ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Cedar Walton

Source: Michael Ricci
January 17, 2017

All About Jazz is celebrating Cedar Walton's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Cedar Walton

Source: Michael Ricci
January 17, 2016

All About Jazz is celebrating Cedar Walton's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Cedar Walton

Source: Michael Ricci
January 17, 2015

All About Jazz is celebrating Cedar Walton's birthday today! For over 25 years, pianist Cedar Walton has enjoyed an up-tempo career, which never seems to slow down. Maintaining a non-stop itinerary, Walton has accompanied a litany of Jazz greats while also fronting his own successful groups. Born January 17, 1934 in Dallas, Texas, Walton set his sights on a career in music at an early age. An after- hours gig at the Denver Club introduced him to notable musicians like ...
read more

Contest

Enter the "Cedar Walton - Reliving the Moment" Giveaway!

Source: All About Jazz
August 11, 2014

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the HighNote Records “Cedar Walton - Reliving the Moment“ giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on September 9th. Click here to enter the contest (Tracking Cedar Walton at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.) Good luck! Your Friends at HighNote Records About Reliving the Moment The Cedar Walton of 1977-78 was the Cedar Walton of Beyond Mobius, The Pentagon, Firm Roots ...
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