Cedar Walton

Cedar Walton earned recognition as one of hard bop’s most dependable pianists, bringing a distinctive rhythmic feel and clear melodic insight to sessions featuring many of the genre’s leading figures. He also composed a series of distinctive originals that gained wider exposure when Art Blakey incorporated them into the Jazz Messengers repertoire during Walton’s tenure with the group from 1961 to 1964; among these pieces were “Mosaic,” “Ugetsu,” and “Bolivia.” Beyond these documented contributions, Walton holds a lesser-known distinction as the first pianist to record John Coltrane’s demanding composition “Giant Steps,” capturing it in April 1959; unlike Tommy Flanagan’s later session the following month, Walton was not asked to improvise but supplied effective harmonic support throughout the track.

His mother provided his earliest piano instruction. After studying at the University of Denver he relocated to New York in 1955 with the intention of working as a musician, only to be conscripted into military service. While stationed in Germany he performed alongside Leo Wright, Don Ellis, and Eddie Harris. Upon completing his enlistment Walton returned to New York and began establishing himself professionally. Between 1958 and 1961 he worked with Kenny Dorham, J.J. Johnson, and Art Farmer’s Jazztet, among other ensembles. He then joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1961, remaining until 1964 as a member of what many regard as the drummer’s most consequential lineup, alongside Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter.

From 1965 to 1966 Walton accompanied Abbey Lincoln. Between 1966 and 1968 he appeared on several recordings led by Lee Morgan, and from 1967 to 1969 he contributed to numerous Prestige sessions as a sideman. In the early 1970s he performed in a group with Hank Mobley and rejoined Blakey for a 1973 tour of Japan. During this same period Walton led his own ensemble, Eastern Rebellion, whose personnel rotated over time and included saxophonists Clifford Jordan, George Coleman, and Bob Berg, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Billy Higgins.

From the 1980s forward he continued directing his own groups and issued a steady stream of recordings, among them The Maestro in 1980, Cedar Walton Plays in 1986, and Composer in 1996; the following year he released Roots, which featured trumpeter Terence Blanchard and saxophonist Joshua Redman. In 2001 he made his debut for HighNote with The Promise Land, followed by Latin Tinge in 2002, Underground Memoirs in 2005, and Seasoned Wood in 2008, the last of these featuring trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. Saxophonist Vincent Herring joined him on Voices Deep Within in 2009; Herring returned, together with trombonist Steve Turre, for The Bouncer in 2011. Cedar Walton died at his Brooklyn residence on August 19, 2013, at the age of 79.