Jazz pianist, arranger, and composer Mal Waldron was born in New York City, New
York on August 16, 1925. At the age of eight years old, he began studying piano
and later switched his attention to learning the alto saxophone. Drafted into
the US Army in 1943, he served two years before returning to civilian life and
attending Queens College. While there, he studied under Karol Rathaus and
decided to abandon the saxophone and return to playing the piano. After
graduating college, he began his professional career in 1950 by playing with his
own bands as well as serving as a sideman ...