Cedar Walton

Cedar Walton was born on January 17, 1934, in Dallas, Texas. His mother Ruth, an aspiring concert pianist, gave him his first piano lessons and introduced him to both classical and jazz traditions. At the University of Denver, he studied composition and attended after-hours jam sessions where he met Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. Walton briefly attended Dillard University in New Orleans before moving to New York City in 1955 to pursue jazz performance.

Walton’s early career was interrupted by Army service in Germany from 1956 to 1958. After discharge, he worked with trumpeter Kenny Dorham on This Is the Moment! (1958). He then joined the Jazztet led by Benny Golson and Art Farmer from 1958 to 1961, where he developed his arranging abilities. In April 1959, Walton became the first pianist to record John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” though the version released did not include him. His breakthrough came in 1961 when he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers on the same day Freddie Hubbard arrived. Blakey’s ensemble featured saxophonist Wayne Shorter and trombonist Curtis Fuller. During three years with the Messengers from 1961 to 1964, Walton served as pianist and arranger, composing “Mosaic,” “Ugetsu,” and “Shaky Jake.” These pieces blended blues feeling with bebop sophistication. Blakey encouraged Walton to write, arrange, and assert himself musically, which transformed his artistic development.

From the mid-1960s onward, Walton became Prestige Records’ house pianist, recording dozens of albums as a sideman with Sonny Criss, Pat Martino, Lee Morgan, and Abbey Lincoln. His debut as leader, Cedar! (1967, Prestige), featured drummer Billy Higgins, beginning a partnership that lasted three decades. In 1974, Walton co-founded Eastern Rebellion with bassist Sam Jones, drummer Higgins, and saxophonist Clifford Jordan. The group recorded seven albums through 1994 with rotating soloists including George Coleman and Curtis Fuller. Walton’s compositions such as “Bolivia,” “Holy Land,” and “Mode for Joe” became standards performed by other musicians. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he maintained collaborations with Ron Carter, Bobby Hutcherson, Harold Land, and Buster Williams. He also arranged for vocalist Etta James from the mid-1990s onward. The National Endowment for the Arts honored Walton as a Jazz Master in 2010. He died in Brooklyn on August 19, 2013, at age 79, leaving a legacy as both a valued accompanist and composer whose originals became central to the jazz repertoire.