Mala Waldron - Bio

Mala has been performing professionally since she was 15 yrs. old, when she joined a local R&B band. Within a year, the band was signed to RCA records with the release of a single, Take a Little Love. She went on to study jazz piano, voice and composition at SUNY College of Old Westbury with Makanda Ken McIntyre, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Mala’s CDs as a featured artist are: He's My Father (a duo with her father, jazz pianist/composer, Mal Waldron), and Lullabye, her solo debut (both Japanese releases.) Her most recent CD, Always There is her first domestic release and was launched with a sold-out concert event at NYC's Jazz Standard.

Following impressive reviews in the U.S. and being included in JazzUSA’s list for “Top 20 Jazz CDs of 2006, Always There went on to receive an equally warm response in the U.K., with Soul Express voting the release, “Album of the Month” (Aug. 06). The success of Always There subsequently captured the attention of executives at Columbia Music Entertainment, who decided to re-release the CD in Japan, with the addition of 2 bonus tracks.

Mala has performed in Japan, France, Belgium and most recently in Asia (touring in Taiwan, China & Malaysia) sponsored by HENNESSY-MOET. She was a featured artist in the 2006 Annual Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival (Jazz at Lincoln Center). Mala has been featured in number magazines, including Jazziz, Jazz Improv, Swing Journal, Jazz Life and Ad Lib (Japan).

The Mala Waldron Group (as featured on "Always There") has been performing together since October 2002.

GUITARIST, STEVE SALERNO is an active performer of both jazz and classical music. He has played with numerous artists including Jaco Pastorius, John Abercrombie, Ray Anderson, Mark Helias, Regina Carter, Randy Brecker and Nat Adderly, Jr. Steve is the Founding Director of the Jazz Program at Stony Brook University.

BASSIST, MIRIAM SULLIVAN is a graduate of Music and Performing Arts High School and Manhattan School of Music Conservatory. She has toured all over the world including South America and Africa with the Jazz Ambassador Program. Her performance credits include work with Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Rachel Z, Lionel Hampton and Hip Hop band “3 Bean Stew” led by Quame.

PERCUSSIONIST-"SOUNDRHYTHIUM," MICHAEL T.A. THOMPSON has shared the stage with a variety of artists including Joe McPhee, John Stubblefield, Henry Grimes, Oliver Lake, Roy Campbell, Jr., John Patittucci, Barbara Sfraga and “The Mighty Sparrow.” His work can be heard on the Drimala Records release Language of Swans. He also acted as producer on Always There as well as on a recent release by vocalist, Barbara Sfraga & CSQ entitled Timelessness Frozen in Time.