About Me
It is not an overstatement to say that modern jazz has been shaped by themusic of McCoy Tyner. His blues-based piano style, replete withsophisticated chords and an explosively percussive left hand hastranscended conventional styles to become one of the most identifiablesounds in improvised music. His harmonic contributions and dramaticrhythmic devices form the vocabulary of a majority of jazz pianists.Born in 1938 in Philadelphia, he became a part of the fertile jazz and R&Bscene of the early ‘50s. His parents imbued him with a love for music froman early age. His mother encouraged him to explore his musical intereststhrough formal training.
At 17 he began a career-changing relationship with Miles Davis’ sidemansaxophonist John Coltrane. Tyner joined Coltrane for the classic album MyFavorite Things (1960), and remained at the core of what became one of themost seminal groups in jazz history, The John Coltrane Quartet. The band,which also included drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Jimmy Garrison, had anextraordinary chemistry, fostered in part by Tyner’s almost familialrelationship with Coltrane.
From 1960 through 1965, Tyner’s name was propelled to internationalrenown, as he developed a new vocabulary that transcended the piano stylesof the time, providing a unique harmonic underpinning and rhythmic chargeessential to the group's sound. He performed on Coltrane’s classicrecordings such as Live at the Village Vanguard, Impressions andColtrane’s signature suite, A Love Supreme.In 1965, after over five years with Coltrane's quartet, Tyner left thegroup to explore his destiny as a composer and bandleader. Among his majorprojects is a 1967 album entitled The Real McCoy, on which he was joinedby saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Ron Carter and fellow Coltranealumnus Elvin Jones. His 1972 Grammy-award nomination album Sahara, brokenew ground by the sounds and rhythms of Africa. Since 1980, he has alsoarranged his lavishly textured harmonies for a big band that performs andrecords when possible.
In the late 1980s, he mainly focused on his regularpiano trio featuring Avery Sharpe on bass and Aarron Scott on drums. As oftoday, this trio is still in great demand. He returned to Impulse in 1995,with a superb album featuring Michael Brecker. In 1996 he recorded aspecial album with the music of Burt Bacharach. In 1998 he changed labelsagain and recorded an interesting latin album and an album featuringStanley Clarke for TelArc.
Tyner has always expanded his vision of the musical landscape andincorporated new elements, whether from distant continents or diversemusical influences. More recently he has arranged for big bands, employedstring arrangements, and even reinterpreted popular music.Today, Tyner has released nearly 80 albums under his name, earned fourGrammys and was awarded Jazz Master from the National Endowment for theArts in 2002. He continues to leave his mark on generations ofimprovisers, and yet remains a disarmingly modest and spiritually directedman.
