American jazz pianist who introduced complex harmonies, scales, and African rhythms into American jazz, especially during his time with John Coltrane's quartet (1960-1965).
McCoy Tyner
Dictionary:
Ty·ner (tī'nər)  , McCoy
|
American jazz pianist who introduced complex harmonies, scales, and African rhythms into American jazz, especially during his time with John Coltrane's quartet (1960-1965).
| Artist: McCoy Tyner |
Similar Artists:
Kenny Werner,
Marcus Roberts,
Mulgrew Miller,
Benny Green,
Hugh Lawson,
Herbie Nichols,
Geoff Keezer,
Andrew Hill,
Herbie Hancock,
Tommy Flanagan,
George Cables,
Joanne Brackeen,
Geri Allen,
Stephen Scott,
Morris Nanton
Influenced By:
Jimmy Witherspoon,
Richard Powell ,
Thelonious Monk,
John Coltrane,
Art Tatum,
Bud Powell,
Ike & Tina Turner
Followers:
Performed Songs By:
Joseph Kosma,
Billy Strayhorn,
Claudio Roditi,
Cole Porter,
Johnny Mercer,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Lorenz Hart,
Oscar Hammerstein II,
Ira Gershwin,
Duke Ellington,
Hal David,
Johnny Burke,
Burt Bacharach,
Richard Rodgers,
Irving Mills,
Ron Carter,
George Gershwin
Worked With:
Bob Thiele,
Alfred Lion,
Freddie Hubbard,
Rudy Van Gelder,
Bob Cranshaw,
Jimmy Garrison,
Elvin Jones
Formal Connection With:
- Born: December 11, 1938, Philadelphia, PA
- Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
- Genres: Jazz
- Instrument: Piano, Leader
- Representative Albums: "Sahara," "Enlightenment," "Echoes of a Friend"
- Representative Songs: "Naima," "Passion Dance," "Blue Monk"
Biography
It is to McCoy Tyner's great credit that his career after John Coltrane has been far from anti-climatic. Along with Bill Evans, Tyner has been the most influential pianist in jazz of the past 50 years, with his chord voicings being adopted and utilized by virtually every younger pianist. A powerful virtuoso and a true original (compare his playing in the early '60s with anyone else from the time), Tyner (like Thelonious Monk) has not altered his style all that much from his early days but he has continued to grow and become even stronger.Tyner grew up in Philadelphia, where Bud Powell and Richie Powell were neighbors. As a teenager he gigged locally and met John Coltrane. He made his recording debut with the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet, but after six months left the group to join Coltrane in what (with bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones) would become the classic quartet. Few other pianists of the period had both the power and the complementary open-minded style to inspire Coltrane, but Tyner was never overshadowed by the innovative saxophonist. During the Coltrane years (1960-1965), the pianist also led his own record dates for Impulse.
After leaving Coltrane, Tyner struggled for a period, working as a sideman (with Ike and Tina Turner, amazingly) and leading his own small groups; his recordings were consistently stimulating even during the lean years. After he signed with Milestone in 1972, Tyner began to finally be recognized as one of the greats, and he has never been short of work since. Although there have been occasional departures (such as a 1978 all-star quartet tour with Sonny Rollins and duo recordings with Stephane Grappelli), Tyner has mostly played with his own groups since the '70s, which have ranged from a quartet with Azar Lawrence and a big band to his trio. In the '80s and '90s, Tyner did the rounds of labels (his old homes Blue Note and Impulse! as well as Verve, Enja, and Milestone) before settling in with Telarc in the late '90s and releasing a fine series of albums including 2000's Jazz Roots: McCoy Tyner Honors Jazz Piano Legends of the 20th Century and 2004's Illuminations. In 2007, Tyner returned with the studio album McCoy Tyner Quartet featuring saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
| Discography: McCoy Tyner |
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| Wikipedia: McCoy Tyner |
| McCoy Tyner | |
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 McCoy Tyner in 1973
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | McCoy Tyner |
| Born | December 11, 1938 |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Genres | Hard bop Modern Creative Cuban jazz Modal jazz Mainstream jazz Post bop |
| Occupations | Musician Composer Bandleader |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Labels | Impulse! Blue Note Milestone Telarc |
| Associated acts | John Coltrane |
| Website | http://mccoytyner.com |
Alfred McCoy Tyner (born December 11, 1938[1]) is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.[2]
Contents |
Biography
Early life
Tyner was born in Philadelphia as the oldest of three children. He was encouraged to study piano by his mother. He began studying the piano at age 13 and within two years, music had become the focal point in his life. His early influences included Bud Powell, a Philadelphia neighbor. As a young man, he converted to Islam through the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, and was active in the objectives of the organization during the pinnacle of his career[citation needed].
Early career
Tyner's first main exposure came with Benny Golson, being the first pianist in Golson's and Art Farmer's legendary Jazztet (1960). After departing the Jazztet, Tyner joined Coltrane's group in 1960 during its extended run at the Jazz Gallery replacing Steve Kuhn. (Coltrane had known Tyner for a while in Philadelphia, and featured one of the pianist's compositions, "The Believer", as early as 1958.) He appeared on the saxophonist's popular recording of "My Favorite Things" for Atlantic Records. The Coltrane Quartet, which consisted of Coltrane on tenor sax, Tyner, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums, toured almost non-stop between 1961 and 1965 and recorded a number of classic albums, including Live at the Village Vanguard, Ballads, Live at Birdland, Crescent, A Love Supreme, and The John Coltrane Quartet Plays ..., on the Impulse! label.
Tyner has recorded a number of highly influential albums in his own right. While in Coltrane's group, he recorded a series of important albums (primarily in the piano trio format) for Impulse! Records.[1] The pianist also appeared as a sideman in many of the highly acclaimed Blue Note Records albums of the 1960s, although was often credited as 'etc.' on the cover of these albums (when listing the sidemen on the album) in order to respect his contractual obligations at Impulse Records.[1]
His involvement with John Coltrane came to an end in 1965. Coltrane's music was becoming much more atonal and free; he had also augmented his quartet with percussion players who threatened to drown out both Tyner and Jones.This seemed at add to his drive and character about wanting to make music his own and unique. Tyner was somewhat bitter about the change in Coltrane's direction: 'I didn't see myself making any contribution to that music...All I could hear was a lot of noise. I didn't have any feeling for the music, and when I don't have feelings, I don't play'. By 1966, Tyner was rehearsing with a new trio and would now fully embark on his career as a leader.[3]
Post-Coltrane
After leaving Coltrane's group, Tyner produced a series of post-bop albums released on Blue Note Records from 1967 to 1970 which included The Real McCoy (1967), Tender Moments (1967), Expansions (1968) and Extensions (1970). Soon thereafter he moved to the Milestone label and recorded many influential albums, including Sahara (1972), Enlightenment (1973), and Fly with the Wind (1976), which featured flautist Hubert Laws, drummer Billy Cobham, and a string orchestra. His music for Blue Note and Milestone often took the Coltrane quartet's music as a point of departure and also incorporated African and East Asian musical elements. On Sahara, for instance, Tyner plays koto, in addition to piano, flute, and percussion. These albums are often cited as examples of vital, innovative jazz from the 1970s that was neither fusion nor free jazz. Trident (1975) is notable for featuring Tyner on harpsichord (rarely heard in jazz) and celeste, in addition to his primary instrument, piano.
Tyner still records and tours regularly and played from the 1980s through '90s with a trio that included Avery Sharpe on bass and Aaron Scott on drums. He made a trio of solo recordings for Blue Note, starting with Revelations (1988) and culminating with Soliloquy (1991). Today Tyner records for the Telarc label and has been playing with different trios, one of which has included Charnett Moffett on bass and Eric Harland on drums. In 2008, Tyner toured with his quartet, which featured saxophonist Gary Bartz with Gerald Cannon (bass) and Eric Kamau Gravatt (drums).
McCoy was also a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. [4]
Style
Tyner's style of piano is easily comparable to Coltrane' style of saxophone. [1] Though a member of Coltrane's group, he was never overshadowed by the saxophonist, but complemented and even inspired Coltrane's open-minded approach. [1] Tyner is one of the most influential pianists of the 20th Century, an honor he earned both with Coltrane and in his years of performing following Coltrane's passing.[1]
Though playing instruments of vastly different versatility, both Tyner and Coltrane utilize similar scales, chordal structures, melodic phrasings, and rhythms. Tyner's playing can be distinguished by a low bass left hand, in which he tends to raise his arm relatively high above the keyboard for an emphatic attack; the fact that Tyner is left-handed may contribute to this distinctively powerful style. Tyner's unique right-hand soloing is recognizable for a detached, or staccato, quality. His melodic vocabulary is rich, ranging from raw blues to complexly superimposed pentatonic scales; his unique approach to chord voicing (most characteristically by fourths) has influenced a wide array of contemporary jazz pianists, most notably Chick Corea. Other instruments included the Appalachian dulcimer.
Discography
Main article: McCoy Tyner discography
References
- ^ a b c d e f Allmusic Biography
- ^ McCoy tyner Biography
- ^ Lewis Porter, John Coltrane: his life and music, p. 268
- ^ Independent Music Awards - 6th Annual Judges
External links
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Mentioned in
- Reunited (1982 Album by Elvin Jones)
- Miles & Trane: Miles Davis and John Coltrane (1991 Music Film)
- Bob Thompson (Jazz Artist, '70s-'90s)
- Best of McCoy Tyner Big Band (2002 Album by McCoy Tyner)
- Five O'clock Bells (1977 Album by Lenny Breau)
- Morning Star (1981 Album by Bob Thompson)
- Dexter Gordon and McCoy Tyner: Cool Summer (Music Film)
- McCoy Tyner: Suddenly (Music Film)
- Remembering John (1991 Album by McCoy Tyner)
- Echoes of a Friend (1972 Album by McCoy Tyner)
- Soliloquy (1991 Album by McCoy Tyner)
- Back to the Basics, Vol. 1 (1996 Album by Various Artists)
- Mo' Breau (1977 Album by Lenny Breau)
- Standard Bearers (1978 Album by Ron Carter & Friends)
