Cedar Anthony Walton Junior, born January 17, 1934 and died August 19, 2013, was an American hard-bop jazz pianist. Before establishing a long and successful career as a composer and bandleader, he was a member in Art Blakey’s group. Walton was born in Dallas, Texas. He is also a descendant of jazz legends Charlie Christian and Red Garland. Walton was a graduate of the University of Denver and moved to New York in 2005. After serving two years in the army, where he was a member of a jazz band, Walton joined Kenny Dorham’s band. In the late 1950s Walton began playing with J. J. Johnson and Benny Golson’s Jazztet. He joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the 1960s to be a pianist and arranger. There he performed with Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, and others. In 1964, he left the Messengers and joined Prestige Records’ house rhythm section. There, besides releasing his own records, he also recorded with Eric Kloss and Pat Martino. Walton was the leader of the funk band Mobius in the mid-1970s. Walton has recorded with Abbey Lincoln and Lee Morgan as well as led the band Eastern Rebellion. He is still a leader of his own bands and freelances through the present. Walton’s most well-known composition is Bolivia, while Fantasy in D is his oldest, which was recorded in 1963 under the title Ugetsu. You can also access user-contributed text under the Creative Commons By–SA License.
