Two "legends" of modern jazz meet for the first time as a duo to pay tribute to Billie Holiday!

"When Billie passed away, I found it very painful to play the pieces associated with her. They always reminded me of the sad and unhappy moments of our musical collaboration. But today, for the first time with Archie, or perhaps thanks to Archie, choosing the pieces and performing them has become a joyful moment for me that reminded me of all the happy and positive times I spent with Billie. Moreover, reconnecting with Archie Shepp, who is one of the greatest saxophonists of our time, has made creating this album an incredibly enriching experience for me." Mal Waldron

The veterans Archie Shepp and Mal Waldron are finally united for a magnificently sumptuous album dedicated to Billie Holiday. This record, recorded at the beginning of the year in Paris, is quite simply one of the most beautiful recordings released in a long time. Mal Waldron was Billie's accompanist for several years (and certainly not during the easiest period - Billie, at the end of her short life, perpetually confronted with drug and alcohol problems, her voice worn out prematurely, and yet so sublime, requiring the talent of a pianist as discreet as he was ever-present). Archie Shepp, for his part, fell in love with Billie's music as a teenager. The result of this tribute (the title refers to the album "Left Alone", recorded by Mal Waldron for Bethlehem Records in the late fifties) is absolutely dazzling. You are faced here with an absolute masterpiece, a testimony of immense love. The repertoire is sublime, beginning with this bitter ballad composed by Billie, "Left Alone", whose lyrics are reproduced on the sleeve. All the other themes, with the exception of "Blues for 52nd Street", are inseparable from Billie. She marked them all with her genius. They are performed here with astounding talent by an Archie Shepp mellowed by age, heir to Hawkins, Webster perhaps more than Coltrane, impressive in emotion and richness. His solos bear the mark of the greatest jazz improvisers, his sound is still inhabited by his characteristic rebelliousness. The somewhat haunting phrasing, full of melancholy and blues, of the very great Mal Waldron is the perfect complement to this raspy voice, so close to Billie's voice at her end, which is that of Archie's tenor. You are faced here with an absolute masterpiece, an intimate marvel that will transport you wherever your dreams may be. A major recording, of an urgency so rare in what is called "jazz" production at present, that you may not discover its beauties on first listening. We touch here on the very essence of jazz, on its freedom, its defiance, its rebellion, and paradoxically on its classicism, and its love for beautiful themes, love songs, sentimental ballads mingled with cries of despair. This record by two musicians who have nothing left to prove, after some fifty years of careers, is an incomparable treasure. I am sure you will listen to "Left Alone" for hours, and don't be ashamed if you weep over it, it will be the most beautiful testimony of love you can offer to Billie.

Mal Waldron's last recording and by no means the least, a poignant testament to his life and an Archie Shepp at his peak.The perfect duo!!!

Mal Waldron, the official pianist of Billie Holiday's final years, thus ended his life with a recording devoted to the singer he loved so much. A perfect ending, as the circle seems complete. In 1986, "Left Alone" saw Waldron revisiting Lady Day in the company of Jackie McLean. In 2002, it was with Archie Shepp that the pianist explored once again the repertoire of his former employer. The encounter is all the more interesting: these two men were at one time champions of free jazz, having been trained in the classical bop school. Waldron with Billie, Shepp with Coltrane. As they aged, both reined in their anger, and a minimalist wisdom replaced yesterday's storms. The pianist is more Monk-like than ever, and Shepp now evokes Coleman Hawkins. But years of boldness and explorations of all kinds cannot be erased with old age. Throughout these ten tracks, Billie classics, the two men never cease to surprise, and to express themselves in a language of dazzling clarity. "Left Alone Revisited", Mal Waldron's final gift, is a record we shan't soon forget.

A1. Easy Living
A2. Nice Work If You Can Get It
A3. Everything Happens To Me
A4. Left Alone
B1. When Your Lover Has Gone
B2. Blues For 52nd Street
B3. Porgy
B4. Lady Sings The Blues
B5. Left Alone (Spoken Lyrics)