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MHCC vocal jazz icon Hal Malcolm dies at 81
The Advocate
Hal Malcolm, a vocal jazz pioneer and longtime MHCC music instructor, died Dec. 25 of cancer at the age of 81.
Malcolm leaves behind a large number of family, friends, colleagues and students who quickly grew to love him throughout his personal and professional lives.
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When Malcolm joined the MHCC music department in 1967, it was the beginning of a career that would influence both the lives of those around him and the very music he was so passionate about, said MHCC music instructors Dave Barduhn and Susie Jones.
Shortly after beginning his career teaching at MHCC, Malcolm founded Genesis, the nation’s first college-level vocal jazz ensemble.
Before Malcolm decided to bring vocal jazz to the college campus, no one had ever tried to put together such an ensemble. Genesis was the beginning of what has resulted in a fairly common music education standard in colleges and high schools across America.
Less than a year after creating a vocal jazz band that continues to provide an opportunity for students to perform more than four decades later, Malcolm held the first vocal jazz festival that the nation had ever seen.
The Northwest Swing Choir Festival was referred to as a “swing” festival instead of a “jazz” festival due to the negative connotations of the word “jazz” at the time. This festival, later to be known as the Northwest Vocal Jazz Festival, grew significantly within a decade. At the first festival in 1968, there were roughly 250 students representing 11 Oregon and Washington high schools; by 1978 the numbers had increased to more than 1,500 high school students representing 120 schools from Oregon, Washington and Northern California. The festival was the world’s first and largest event of its kind.
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The creation of the vocal jazz band Genesis and the annual vocal jazz festivals earned Malcolm the title of “the father of vocal jazz.”
These early concerts helped to pave the way for the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, which is held yearly and involves performances in downtown Gresham as well as at MHCC.
In 1973, Malcolm was the first person to present vocal jazz concepts to the National Association of Jazz Educators. This demonstration earned him one of seven positions as a facilitator of the first annual NAJE convention. Through the convention, Malcolm made important connections with people in the jazz community. These connections have helped students move on to play with some high profile jazz musicians.
Throughout his career, Malcolm left a positive impact on everything and everyone he came into contact with, according to friends and colleagues.
“He affected many, many students over the years personally and professionally,” said Susie Jones. His unrestrained exuberance when it comes to music is something those that knew him remember vividly today.
His enthusiasm was not restricted to instruction alone, Barduhn said. He had a drive to help others like him. Having grown up in foster homes, he would tend to find potential students that seemed to be lost causes and provide them with a second and sometimes third chance, he said.
“Hal was that kind of guy who grew up with zero breaks. Some college teachers took him under their wing and gave him a chance. I think he tried to pay that concept back and kept helping students that he kind of though nobody else would help,” said Barduhn, who was a student under Malcolm.
— Some information for this story was provided by “Celebrating 25 Years of Service to the Community” by William J. Murphy.
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