Bob Malach (born August 23, 1954) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist. Malach learned several reed instruments in his youth, and played with

Philadelphia soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The ...

bands such as

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All ...

and

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...

while still a teenager. He played in the big bands of Lin Biviano and

Les Elgart Lester Elliott Elgart (August 3, 1917 – July 29, 1995) was an American swing jazz bandleader and trumpeter. Early years Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Elgart grew up in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey with his brother Larry. They were exposed ...

in the mid-1970s, then moved to New York City in 1977, where he met

Alphonse Mouzon Alphonse Lee Mouzon (November 21, 1948 – December 25, 2016) was an American musician and vocalist, most prominently known as a jazz fusion drummer. He was also a composer, arranger, producer, and actor. Mouzon gained popularity in the late 196 ...

. He recorded with Mouzon and went on tour with him in Europe, leading to eventual collaborations with European jazz artists including

George Gruntz George Gruntz (24 June 1932 – 10 January 2013) was a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist, and composer known for the George Gruntz Concert Big Band and his work with Phil Woods, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker ...

Chris Hinze Christiaan Herbert "Chris" Hinze (born June 30, 1938, Hilversum, Netherlands) is a Dutch people, Dutch jazz and New Age music, New age flautist. Life and work Hinze initially performed publicly as a pianist until the mid-1960s, when he began ...

, Joachim Kuhn,

Didier Lockwood Didier Lockwood (11 February 1956 – 18 February 2018) was a French violinist. He played in the French rock band Magma in the 1970s, and was known for his use of electric amplification and his experimentation with different sounds on the electri ...

Palle Mikkelborg Palle Mikkelborg (born 6 March 1941) is a Danish jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and record producer. He is self-taught on the trumpet, although he studied conducting at the Royal Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He became a professio ...

Michel Petrucciani Michel Petrucciani (; ; 28 December 1962 – 6 January 1999) was a French jazz pianist. From birth he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and, in his case, short stature. Despite his health condition and rel ...

, Aldo Romano,

Bo Stief Bo Stief (born 15 October 1946) is a Danish jazz and rock bassist, composer, and arranger born in Copenhagen. He has worked or recorded with Don Cherry, Miles Davis, Warne Marsh, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Jackie ...

, and Jasper Van't Hof. In the US, Malach played extensively both in jazz circles and with pop, rock, and soul musicians. He worked with

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

in the 1970s, and in the 1980s and 1990s played with, among others,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...

Bob Mintzer Robert Alan Mintzer (born January 27, 1953) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. Early life Mintzer was born and raised in a Jewish family in New Rochelle, New York, on January 27, 1953. He attended the Inte ...

Robben Ford Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz, and rock music, rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets (band), Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harriso ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, Steve Miller,

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

Mike Stern Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, re ...

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only B ...

Ben Sidran Ben Hirsh Sidran (born August 14, 1943) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist, producer, label owner, and music writer. Early in his career he was a member of the Steve Miller Band and is the father of Grammy-nominated musician, composer and ...

, Leni Stern, and

Dave Weckl Dave Weckl (born January 8, 1960, in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American jazz fusion drummer and the leader of the Dave Weckl Band. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2000. Biography Weckl started playing his first se ...

. Bob has a son, Tom Malach, who is one of the guitarists for the band “Garcia Peoples”.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* ''Some People'' (MPS, 1980) * ''Mood Swing'' (Go Jazz, 1990) * ''Dinner for Two'' with

Jasper van 't Hof Jasper van 't Hof (born 30 June 1947) is a Dutch jazz pianist and keyboard player. Van 't Hof was born in Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands, and began studying piano at the age of five. He played in jazz bands at school, and by the age of 19 was ...

(MA Music, 1990) * ''The Prague Concert'' with Jasper van 't Hof (P&J Music, 1992) * ''The Searcher'' (Go Jazz, 1995) * ''After Hours'' (Go Jazz, 1998) * ''Conversations with Michel'' with

(Go Jazz, 2000) * ''Pseudopodia'' with Jasper van 't Hof (In+Out, 2008)

As sideman

Louis Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer ...

, ''Originals'' (Stash, 1980) *

, '' First Prize'' (Enja, 1989) *

Bill O'Connell Bill O'Connell (born August 22, 1953, in New York City) is a jazz pianist, educator, and bandleader. He is most associated with Latin jazz and hard bop. He studied piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, but has mostly lived in NYC or Lon ...

, ''Latin Jazz Fantasy'' (Random Chance) *

, ''Between The Lines'' (Atlantic Jazz, 1996) *

, ''Is What It Is'' (Atlantic, 1994) *

Dexter Wansel Dexter Gilman Wansel (born August 22, 1950) is an American R&B/jazz fusion artist, singer, arranger, musician, composer, conductor, synthesist and A&R director. Early life Dexter Wansel began as an errand boy backstage at the Uptown Theater i ...

, ''Life On Mars'' (Philadelphia International, 1976) *

, '' Faces & Places'' (ESC, 2002)

References

*Mark Gilbert, "Bob Malach". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Malach, Bob 1954 births American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Living people Musicians from Philadelphia 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians