Mal Waldron, One Entrance, Many Exits

Once an accompanist for Billie Holliday, as well as collaborator with Charles Mingus (who gets a nod on this album with the track "Chazz Jazz"), Mal Waldron played with many of the more forward-thinking figures in jazz, including Eric Dolphy, Archie Shepp, and Steve Lacy. Waldron always straddled a line between his bop roots and the avant-garde, and on One Entrance, Many Exits from 1982—which featured tenor sax great Joe Henderson, drummer Billy Higgins, and bassist David Friesen—both schools of jazz are represented. The standard "How Deep Is the Ocean" sits alongside Waldron originals like the title track, which demonstrates his more angular style.