LAVIE & ALLEN PAUL TRIO

C

aribbean vocalist LaVie performs alongside pianist Allen Paul for an outdoor concert on Ocean Drive as part of the Promenade Sunday Concert Series.

Known for her expressive vocals and stage presence, LaVie blends elements of soul, pop and inspirational music, while Allen Paul brings a background in composition, arranging and live performance shaped by his work as a musical director and educator in South Florida. Together, the performance offers a mix of familiar songs and original material in a relaxed, open-air setting.

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Pops Foster was born George Murphy Foster on May 19, 1892 on a plantation near McCall in Ascension Parish outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When his family moved to New Orleans he started playing cello at age 10 but then switched to string bass.

Foster was playing professionally by 1907 working with Kid Ory, Jack Carey, Armand Piron, King Oliver and other prominent hot bands of the era. In 1921 he moved to St. Louis and joined the Charlie Creath and Dewey Jackson bands, in which he would be active for much of the decade. He would rejoin Kid Ory in Los Angeles and acquire the nickname “Pops” because he was far older than any of the other players in the band.

By the end of the Roaring Twenties he was back in New York City playing in the bands of Luis Russell and Louis Armstrong till 1940.  From that point he would gig with Sidney Bechet, Art Hodes and other various New York bands along with regular broadcasts on the national This Is Jazz radio program.

He toured widely during this period throughout Europe and the United States and was well loved in France. He would return to New Orleans and California regularly. Through the 50s and 60s he played with Jimmy Archey, Papa Celestin, Earl Hines and the New Orleans All-Stars. Bassist Pops Foster, who also played tuba and trumpet, passed away on October 29, 1969 in San Francisco, California. His autobiography was published two years later.

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Lou Bennett was born May 18, 1926 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and first learned to play the piano before switching to the organ. It wasn’t until hearing Jimmy Smith play, that Bennett chose to stop playing bebop piano and make this instrument his professional calling.

Lou toured the U.S. with an organ trio between 1957 and 1959, and then moved to Paris in 1960. There he recorded and performed at the Blue Note with Jimmy Gourley, Kenny Clarke, Philip Catherine, Franco Manzecchi and Rene Thomas. He returned to America only once, for the 1964 Newport Jazz Festival.

By the 1980s he played in his own quintet and during this period toured extensively throughout Spain. As a leader he recorded twelve albums for RCA, Impulse, BelAir, Fonatana, Vogue and other labels into the Nineties. Jazz organist Lou Bennett passed away on February 10, 1997 in Paris, France.

 

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Left Alone ~ The Mal Waldron Trio | By Eddie Carter

This morning’s album from the library is Mal Waldron, a jazz pianist, arranger, and composer who’s recording a dedication to Billie Holiday, Left Alone (Bethlehem Records (BCP 6045/BS 6045). Mal was born in New York City on August 16, 1925. Mal began his professional career after graduating from college in 1950. As the house pianist for Prestige Records, he appeared on numerous recordings and contributed compositions. He also performed with John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Jackie McLean and Charles Mingus. Waldron worked with several vocalists and was Billie Holiday’s pianist from April 1957 until her passing in July 1959. On this 1960 release, he’s joined by Jackie McLean on alto saxophone (track: A1); Julian Euell on bass; and Al Dreares on drums. The copy I own is the 1981 Japanese Stereo reissue (Trio Records PAP-23001).

The title tune, Left Alone by Billie Holiday and Mal Waldron, opens the album with a solemn introduction by the pianist, leading to Jackie’s entrance to deliver the melancholy theme. Mal leads off with a delicately tender performance, then Jackie responds with a reading conveying beauty and elegance, before the quartet’s affectionate closing chorus ends softly. Catwalk is a Mal Waldron creation, and Julian makes the initial introduction, segueing into the group’s melody. Waldron has the first say and gives a tasty treat, then Euell takes a delightful walk in the following solo. The pianist concludes the solos with a final thought before restating the theme into a soft finish.

The tempo slows down for the trio’s introduction to You Don’t Know What Love Is by Gene de Paul and Don Raye. Mal sketches a lengthy musical portrait as the song’s only soloist with a delicate touch, solidified by Julian’s and Al’s accompaniment ahead of an immensely satisfying finale. Another Mal Waldron original, Minor Pulsation, gets the second side started with a two-instrument conversation between piano and drums that leads into the lively theme. Waldron takes the wheel first and drives the opening solo aggressively. Dreares gets his first solo opportunity and fuels the finale with uptempo precision preceding the group’s return to take the song out the way it began.

The threesome tackles a swinging rendition of Sonny Rollins’ Airegin next. A solo introduction by the pianist leads tothe trio’s melody. Waldron goes first again and gives a vigorous presentation, then Euell follows with a jaunty walk in the second statement. The pianist and drummer share the song’s final spotlight in a spirited exchange of ideas before the ensemble’s brisk finale takes it out. The album closes with Mal Waldron sharing a heartfelt, reflective and tender remembrance of Billie Holiday, offering a glimpse of what she was really like to work with. Teddy Charles produced Left Alone, and Peter In was behind the dials of the recording console.

The album’s sound quality is excellent, possessing a gorgeous soundstage that draws the listener into the music. Mal Waldron, renowned for his contributions as a jazz pianist and composer, built an extensive discography over five decades. Between 1952 and 2002, he released over 100 albums as a bandleader and appeared on more than 80 recordings as a supporting musician. His creative output also includes film soundtrack compositions. If you appreciate jazz piano, I highly recommend checking out Left Alone by the Mal Waldron Trio the next time you’re searching for new music at your favorite record shop. It’s a thoughtful and captivating work from an exceptionally gifted and versatile artist, making it a worthy addition to any jazz library!

p>~ You Don’t Know What Love Is – Source: JazzStandards.com ~ Left Alone – Source: Wikipedia.org © 2026 by Edward Thomas Carter

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Joe Roland was born May 17, 1920 in New York City and began as a clarinetist, attending the Institute of Musical Art (The Juilliard School) from 1937 to 1939. He started playing the xylophone in 1940 and then the vibraphone in the middle of the decade, playing in the New York jazz clubs. Influenced by the nascent bebop movement, Roland put together his own ensembles late in the decade.

By the 1950s he was playing with Oscar Pettiford, George Shearing, Howard McGhee, Mat Mathews, Aaron Sachs, and with Artie Shaw and his Gramercy Five alongside Hank Jones, Tal Farlow, and Tommy Potter.  Mat Mathews and Aaron Sachs. Roland recorded occasionally as a leader releasing albums for Rainbow, Savoy, Seeco and Bethlehem records.

In the early sixties Joe moved to Miami Florida and became an influential part of a thriving South Florida jazz scene.  While working the Coconut Grove he was credited for having trained many young musicians from the University of Miami. Vibraphonist Joe Roland would work steadfastly throughout his life until his death of natural causes at the age of 89 in Jupiter, Florida on October 12, 2009.

 

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