adEIdJ – Associazione delle Etichette Indipendenti di Jazz

Press Release

Caligola, a cultural association based in Venice, Italy, has been organizing jazz, folk, rock and blues concerts since 1980. In 1994 it founded and independent jazz label with the same name, Caligola Records. It therefore seemed natural to select the best live tapes fron over a thousand concerts, so many music lovers around the world - both young and old - can listen to them. For this reason, we like to name this series of albums "Historical Concerts".
The fifth release in the series presents a concert as rare as it is valuable, a performance by the previously unheard duo of pianist Mal Waldron (1925-2002) and saxophonist Sam Rivers (1923-2011), recorded in February 1984 at the Toniolo Theatre in Mestre (Venice). There are no official albums by this duo, which came together only for a short European tour. At the time, Waldron was primarily performing with saxophonist Steve Lacy. On this occasion, the two jazz masters revisit only well-known standards, reinterpreting them with their strong and always recognizable musical styles.

Track List

1. Scrapple from the Apple (Charlie Parker)
2. I Though About You (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Mercer)
3. Blue Monk (Thelonious Monk)
4. Get Happy (harold Arlen, Ted Koehler)
5. Come Rain or Come Shine (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)
6. All of You (Cole Porter)
7. Bye Bye Blackbird (Ray Henderson, Mort Dixon)

Personnel

Sam Rivers (tenor sax)
Mal Waldron (piano)

Recording Data

Live recorded at Toniolo Theatre, Mestre (Venezia), Italy, on February 15, 1984; edited and mastered by Bruno Cimenti for Primigenia Produzioni in October 2025