1965 · Album
The Dealers
Recorded April 19, 1957 and September 20, 1957 · Status Records (catalogue 8316) · Produced by Not specified in source material
Unreleased Treasures From Sessions Past
The Dealers arrived as a quiet collection of forgotten takes, waiting decades for ears ready to hear them.
The Dealers landed in 1964 with almost no fanfare. It was a Status Records release pulling together unreleased material from sessions that had already spawned other albums years earlier, so there was no promotional machinery, no sense of event. This was a deep-catalog item, the kind of record that would only find listeners through curiosity or accident. It built no immediate reputation because almost nobody noticed it when it came out. What mattered is that the music itself was there, waiting.
The tracks come from two separate sessions, both from 1957. "Blue Calypso" and "Falling In Love With Love" emerged from an April session that had already contributed to Mal/2 (1957), while "Dealin'" and "Wheelin'" are alternate takes from a September date connected to the Wheelin' & Dealin' (1958) album. Mal Waldron anchors everything on piano, working with John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Bill Hardman, Art Taylor, and others depending on the session. The difference between original releases and these alternate takes is subtle but real—different phrasings, slightly different energy, takes that didn't make the cut the first time around.
What you get is straightforward 1950s hard bop in a working session format. No pretension, no overdubs, just musicians playing together in a room. Waldron's piano drives the harmonic movement while Coltrane and McLean trade ideas over it. It's the kind of album that only matters if you're already deep into this music or curious enough to dig. It's not a starting point and it's not a peak. It's supplementary material that happens to contain decent playing from serious musicians doing their job.
Who's playing
Julian Euelldouble bass
Doug Watkinsdouble bass
Mal Waldronpiano
John Coltranetenor saxophone
Jackie McLeanalto saxophone
Paul Quinichettetenor saxophone
Bill Hardmantrumpet
Art Taylordrums
Frank Wesswoodwind
Where next?
More by Jackie McLean
All 46 albums →
The musicians on this record
A Love Supreme 1965
John Coltrane
plays tenor saxophone here
plays tenor saxophone here
Sweet Love, Bitter 1967
Mal Waldron
plays piano here
plays piano here
