1978's Moods is a double-LP, evenly divided between a sextet and Waldron solo. The sextet features regular Waldron collaborators in Steve Lacy and Cameron Brown. The surprising part is that a third of the ensemble is Japanese, with Terumasa Hino on trumpet and Makaya Ntshoko on drums. This half of the album combines Waldron's suspended and floating compositional style with propulsion and drive. The sound of these tracks is overly bright. The second half, on solo piano, provides context for the album title, as pieces include "Anxiety" and "Happiness". Here, Waldron's suspended, slowly-evolving pieces have a lot more room to breathe. He also brings in turns of stride piano, with a more classic rhythmic sense than is typical of his compositions. The cover photograph and design, while beautiful and classy, have little relationship to Waldron's music.
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