I have sent some requests in for the show on 29 March. I have concentrated on his Blue Note years, two as a leader and one as a sideman. Listening now to some of that stuff: never does it get old.
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BNOriginally posted by BLUESNIK'S REVOX View Post
Cheers for posting this. I was not aware of this album but the inclusion of the Chopin Prelude is not a surprise. The short form of these Preludes easily lends for jazz interpretations and I have heard Beirach delve in to them too. I always thought that Charlie Haden's "Silence" owed a lot to the C minor Prelude.
The inclusion of the Beethoven Sonata was less predictable. I appreciate that Beethoven was a great improvisor but have never been surprised that jazz musicians have never taken to his work in the same way that they have with Chopin, Debussy, Ravel, Messaien, Bach, Bartok, etc. I like his Symphonies but the Sonatas and piano work in general are not as interesting to me as a lot of the Classical music which followed afterwards because I don't feel the harmonies he used are that colourful. I suppose it is the harmonic language in Classical music which is the main appeal with jazz musicians and I suppose there might be a correlation with Tyner's love of fourths to voice harmonies and Beethovens love of fifths with become fourths when they are inverted.
Thanks for the link.
This is the Beethoven interpretation. Intriguing to see that the bones of this version stems from taking the Sonata's theme as a kind of standard whereas the harmonies Tyner is using would have been unfamiliar to Beethoven. I always imagine that if Beethoven have been teleported in to the 20th Century he would have found discovering jazz to be a eureka moment for him and the improviser within him would have taken a lot from jazz. Still, this track is great fun....
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On a McCoy kick right now, and listening to Expansions. I think this was one of the first Blue Notes I ever heard. I forgot just how good this LP is.all words are trains for moving past what really has no nameComment
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McCoy Tyner - "Memories", solo piano, from the 2000 Telarc album, "McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke and Al Foster. Reflective and a little gem, he may have slowed down in later years, who can blame him, but this sounds well felt...
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Having said he was "slowing down", this is "Passion Dance" live from the same year (2000) with Al Foster and Charnett Moffett. Ferocious. And then there's Moffett's bass solo...
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McCoy Tyner with Jackie McLean, Woody Shaw, Cecil McBee & Jack DeJohnette playing 'Passion Dance', One Night With Blue Note, 1985:
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Originally posted by Jazzrook View PostMcCoy Tyner with Jackie McLean, Woody Shaw, Cecil McBee & Jack DeJohnette playing 'Passion Dance', One Night With Blue Note, 1985:
JR
Here he is playing Stella by Starlight with George Benson:
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This was recorded at Vienne albeit the year before I first visited. Charnett Moffett was on the gig with Hutcherson too and I recall him having a similar feature on that gig too. When he played arco the effect sounds a bit like Jimi Hendrix. That clip is incredible. How many pianists can swing that hard?Originally posted by BLUESNIK'S REVOX View PostComment
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Here's Cal Massey's 'I Thought I'd Let You Know' from that great 1968 BLUE NOTE album:Originally posted by Tenor Freak View Post
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"The Smalls LIVE Foundation Newsletter
March 9th 2020
In Buddhist theology, there is the occasional birth of a person called a "wheel turning king". It is a person (who may or may not be a royal leader and can be male or female) who has had such a huge spiritual impact on the world that the "wheel is turned". This is to say, the great world is altered by the presence of this being and the work they have done. I can't help but think of McCoy Tyner in these terms. I played McCoy on the house system at Smalls all weekend and listened to some of those wonderful records that I've been listening to my entire life. I never stop being thrilled by his line and touch - as soon as he hits the keys he is unmistakably himself Such beauty. Last night I was struck by the immensity of his originality. Very few in our art combine their influences to create something so new and fresh. Where did McCoy come from and how did he create such a fresh take on jazz playing? It's simply miraculous..."
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Vary sad news - a very great pianist, loved his work with the JC quartet. I think his solo on "Afro Blue" (Live at Birdland) personifies Steve Lacy's comment of how one of those great musical moments "Lifts the bandstand" and the whole band soars.
My choice of a fine McCoy solo, the leadoff on Hank Mobley's "Chain Reaction" followed by a great Lee Morgan solo.
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McCoy Tyner obituary by John Fordham:
"He eschewed electric music, despite its popularity, and for a time considered taking up taxi-driving."
JRLast edited by Jazzrook; 11-03-20, 20:48.Comment
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Ethan Iverson's blog article on McCoy Tyner recordings from the 1960s - linked from comment below the Fordham obit - is excellent, including exemplary clips from some of his solos and confirmation of my suspicion that he had been influenced by Debussy, among others. It puts Tyner's harmonic innovations in context - until reading this I had assumed his employment of fourths-based chords to have originated in Bill Evans's underpinning hook from "So What", but it goes back earlier in jazz. Ravel's 1905 piano piece La vallée des cloches is also cited - others may have noted similar such harmonies lurking among compositions by British composers of the so-called "pastoral school" - Frank Bridge's 1926 tone poem "Enter Spring" for instance concludes gloriously with a triumphant theme underpinned by some very McCoy Tynerish fourth chords. Here's the link:Originally posted by Jazzrook View PostMcCoy Tyner obituary by John Fordham:
"He eschewed electric music, despite its popularity, and for a time considered taking up taxi-driving."
JR
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I thought Tyner's fourths came, in part at least, from Ritchie Powell, Bud's brother who died in the car accident with Clifford Brown?Originally posted by Serial_Apologist View Post
Tyner, 1963:
"You are exposed to so much music today that you cannot always pinpoint influences. I know that when I used to listen to Max Roach’s band I was impressed by the harmonies Richard Powell used to play and by his use of the sustaining pedal on chords. In fact, one of the strong points of his playing was his beautiful harmonic conception. I never copied what he did, but I certainly appreciated it."
BN.Last edited by BLUESNIK'S REVOX; 12-03-20, 16:40.Comment
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