RIP McCoy Tyner

[Joseph K]

Today I was listening to the live A Love Supreme, which features probably his best playing that I've heard.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Today I was listening to the live A Love Supreme, which features probably his playing that I've heard.

New York Times (which has an early obit)

"By Ben Ratliff
March 6, 2020, 2:32 p.m. ET
McCoy Tyner, a cornerstone of John Coltrane’s groundbreaking 1960s quartet and one of the most influential pianists in jazz history, has died. He was 81.

His death was announced on his Facebook page, which gave no further details."

I saw him c.1984, playing with his trio with Louis Hayes on drums. Phenomenal power and energy, both McCoy and Louis. A hugely memorable night.

RIP.

[Serial_Apologist]

New York Times (which has an early obit)

"By Ben Ratliff
March 6, 2020, 2:32 p.m. ET
McCoy Tyner, a cornerstone of John Coltrane’s groundbreaking 1960s quartet and one of the most influential pianists in jazz history, has died. He was 81.

His death was announced on his Facebook page, which gave no further details."

I saw him c.1984, playing with his trio with Louis Hayes on drums. Phenomenal power and energy, both McCoy and Louis. A hugely memorable night.

RIP.

I saw him a year or two later with that trio, at Bracknell. Yes, it surged. RIP one of jazz's most influential pianists.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

McCoy, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, Elvin - "Passion Dance" ("The Real McCoy", Bluenote). Such a great record.

http://youtu.be/0zdoOyeRTCA

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm always glad I bought the album from which this version of Naima was the opening track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-hDADtbu6Q

I don't think McCoy would be upset if I point out how much Debussy is in this tune and the way he develops it, improvising. Supercharged Debussy.

[Joseph K]

Magical playing here -

[Tenor Freak]

From F******k:

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of jazz legend, Alfred “McCoy” Tyner.
McCoy was an inspired musician who devoted his life to his art, his family and his spirituality.
McCoy Tyner’s music and legacy will continue to inspire fans and future talent for generations to come.
The Tyner family is grateful for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time, and respectfully requests that any inquiries be directed to info@algbrands.com

I think Alyn had said he'd been unwell, but still it's sad to read of his passing: the last surviving member of John Coltrane's classic quartet. RIP.

[Tenor Freak]

While I'm here, I'll post a link to one of my favourite McCoy pieces - his solo version of "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" from the superb LP "Time for Tyner":

[muzzer]

A mere what 55 years after his most famous recordings? And they just moments in a lifetime of art. These times of greats passing, while actuarially inevitable, is no less affecting and I really don’t know how best to mark them, really.

[Alyn_Shipton]

We're going to have a special McCoy edition of JRR on 29 March so please send any requests for your favourite Tyner music to jazz.record.requests@bbc.co.uk
Just been re-listening to the Jazz Library we did - sadly not available as a download.... Nice man, and very generous with his time on every occasion I interviewed him. My favourite moment in a McCoy gig was when he was at Brecon and Al Foster's drum stool collapsed mid set so that he almost disappeared, but somehow kept playing, and McCoy just carried on regardless, being utterly brilliant.

[Quarky]

RIP McCoy Tyner

My most recent recollection of him was, may be oddly, on the Johnny Hartmann collaboration.

[Jazzrook]

Very sad news.
Here's McCoy with Bobby Hutcherson playing 'African Village' at the BLUE NOTE 75th anniversary concert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMYqiTqcZNc

JR

[Ian Thumwood]

I think it is easy to fall in to the trap of seeing McCoy Tyner as a just a member of the seminal John Coltrane quartet but I was fortunate enough to hear him for the first time in a quartet with Bobby Hutcherson with whom he had an equally productive relationship. This was when they were touring "The land of giants" album. I saw him in later years with a trio with Eric Gravatt (My Dad thought this was superb) and for a second time at Vienne where, from recollection, he appeared with a variety of groups including one with Ravi Coltrane as well as the big band in a whole evening dedicated to his music. Of all the concerts, the one with Hutcherson was pretty amazing as I had not listened extensively to either musician at that time and was bowled over by the shear musicality of the concert. In my opinion, I think that the partnership with Hutcherson may not have been as defining as the one with Coltrane but I feel it was no less successful.

Picking up on SA's comment about the influence of Debussy on Tyner's playing, I had always been intrigued by the notion of which Classical composers McCoy Tyner would have loved the most. I find his playing to be a bit of a conundrum because I don't think there have been many pianists who have swung quite as hard as him. The only two names which immediately spring to mind are Errol Garner and Hampton Hawes but Tyner has got to be amongst the very top. However, the more I listen to him playing , the more convinced I am that underneath this really ferocious approach, there is a lot of Classical Romanticism in his playing. I have heard him speak about his love of the playing of Art Tatum who is often cited in connection with the link between these kinds of composers and jazz but I have been unable to find anything on line or in interviews where he has expressed his debt to or appreciation of Classical music. I think it was Kenny Garrett who spoke of Tyner being the most "African" of all jazz pianists. I sometimes wonder just how much affection Tyner had for composers like Chopin. If you listen to his right hand instead of focussing on the quartal harmonies, there seems to be a florid quality in his playing that belays a grasp of this era of music. He can be extremely lyrical too. I must admit that I concur with Alyn that, in interviews, I always felt that he came across as a real gent.

As far as the defining McCoy moment, how about "La Mesha" from Joe Henderson's "Page One, " as perfect a performance as anything on Blue Note ?

[Quarky]

Very sad news.
Here's McCoy with Bobby Hutcherson playing 'African Village' at the BLUE NOTE 75th anniversary concert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMYqiTqcZNc

JR

Thanks, JR.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

One for IAN. McCoy Tyner Quartet, "Prelude in Emin Op24 No4" (Chopin)...if Chopin was Brazilian. Either Antonio Hart or Joshua Redman on saxophone... Tres cool, from the album, "Prelude & Sonata" (1995).

http://youtu.be/W9AM83sS6-A