The Whirling Dervish

by Jason Ankeny The Whirling Dervish looms among Mal Waldron's boldest and most challenging sessions -- its three epic compositions are intimidating in their scope and reach, but the music rewards the intellectual commitment it demands with some of the pianist's most inspired playing. Liberated from the conventions of structure and tempo, Waldron immerses himself completely in pieces like "Reaching Out" and "Walk," creating strong, wonderfully complex lines driven as much by emotion as by intellect -- bassist Peter Warren and drummer Noel McGhie anchor the music in reality but also push it further into the unknown, forging rhythms that suggest the pulse of some strange, heretofore unknown life form.