McCoy Tyner | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Tyner in 1973 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alfred McCoy Tyner |
| Born | (1938-12-11)December 11, 1938 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | March 6, 2020(2020-03-06) (aged 81) Bergenfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Piano |
| Years active | 1960–2020 |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | The Jazztet |
| Spouse | Aisha Saud (divorced) |
| Website | mccoytyner |
| Relatives | Jarvis Tyner (brother) |
Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938 – March 6, 2020) was an Americanjazz pianist and composer known for his work with theJohn Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards.[1] He was anNEA Jazz Master and five-timeGrammy Award winner. Tyner has been widely imitated, and is one of the most recognizable and influential jazz pianists of all time.[2]
Tyner was born on December 11, 1938,[3][4] inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, the eldest of Jarvis and Beatrice (née Stevenson) Tyner's three children.[5]
Tyner was encouraged to study piano by his mother, who had installed a piano at her beauty salon. When he was 13, Tyner began piano lessons atGranoff School of Music, where he also studiedmusic theory andharmony. By the time he was 15, music had become the focus of his life.[6][7]
Tyner's decision to study piano was reinforced when he encounteredbebop pianistBud Powell, a neighbor of the Tyner family.[8] Another major influence on Tyner's playing wasThelonious Monk, whose percussive attacks informed Tyner's style.[4] During his teens, Tyner led his own group, the Houserockers.[9]
When he was 17, Tyner converted toAhmadiyya and changed his name to Suleiman Saud.[10][11]
Tyner played professionally in Philadelphia, becoming part of its modern jazz scene.[5] In 1960, he joinedThe Jazztet led byBenny Golson andArt Farmer. Six months later, he joined theJohn Coltrane quartet, which included drummerElvin Jones and bassistSteven Davis. He worked with the band during its extended run at the Jazz Gallery, replacingSteve Kuhn.[8][12] Coltrane had known Tyner for a while growing up in Philadelphia,[13] and recorded Tyner's composition "The Believer" on January 10, 1958, which became the title track ofPrestige Records' 1964album under Coltrane's name.[14][15]
The band toured almost nonstop between 1961 and 1965, recording many albums widely considered jazz classics includingMy Favorite Things (1961) forAtlantic Records andColtrane "Live" at the Village Vanguard (1962),Ballads (1963),John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963),Live at Birdland (1964),Crescent (1964),A Love Supreme (1964), andThe John Coltrane Quartet Plays (1965), forImpulse! Records.[16]
While in Coltrane's group, Tyner recorded albums in a piano trio. In late 1962 and the first half of 1963, Tyner was asked by producerBob Thiele to record more straightforward jazz albums as a leader. These includedReaching Fourth (1963),Today and Tomorrow (1964), andMcCoy Tyner Plays Ellington (1965).
In a 2017 review,Marc Myers ofJazzWax wrote, "the finest of these straightforward piano recordings wasNights of Ballads & Blues. Tyner's playing is exciting and exceptional on all of the tracks... On the album, he exhibits a reserved elegance and tenderness that reveals the other side of his personality—a lover of melody and standards. In this regard, there are traces ofOscar Peterson in his playing. Perhaps Thiele was using Tyner to take a bite out of Peterson's vast and successful early-'60s share of the jazz market."[17]
Tyner also appeared as a sideman on manyBlue Note Records albums of the 1960s, although he was often credited as "etc." on the cover of these albums to respect his contract with Impulse!.[8]
Tyner's playing style developed in close contact with Coltrane.[18] His style is comparable to Coltrane's maximalist style.[8] In 2019, Sami Linna at theUniversity of the Arts Helsinki noted that Coltrane described the two different directions in his playing as "playing chordally (vertically) or melodically (horizontally)". Linna suggests: "Tyner would eventually find a way of dealing with the two directions simultaneously, in a manner that was supportive and complementary yet original and slightly different from Coltrane's approach."
After 1960, Coltrane did not hire anyone as a replacement if Tyner was not available; between the time Tyner joined the group (around the end of May 1960) and left (December 1965), no other pianist accompanied Coltrane.[18]
Tyner's involvement with Coltrane ended 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. Tyner commented: "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".[19]
In 1966, Tyner rehearsed with a new trio and embarked on a career as a bandleader.[20] Tyner produced a series ofpost-bop albums released by Blue Note between 1967 and 1970. These includedThe Real McCoy (1967),Tender Moments (1967),Time for Tyner (1968),Expansions (1968), andExtensions (1970). He signed withMilestone Records and recorded such albums asSahara andEchoes of a Friend (1972),Enlightenment (1973), andFly with the Wind (1976), which included flutistHubert Laws, drummerBilly Cobham, and a string orchestra.[21]
His music for Blue Note and Milestone often used the music of the Coltrane quartet as a starting point. Tyner also incorporated African and East Asian elements. OnSahara, he playedkoto in addition to piano, flute, and percussion. These albums have been cited as examples of innovative 1970s jazz that was neitherfusion norfree jazz. OnTrident (1975) Tyner played theharpsichord andcelesta, instruments rarely heard in jazz.[22] Unlike many jazz keyboardists of his generation, Tyner rarely usedelectronic keyboards orsynthesizers.
During the '80s and '90s, Tyner performed in a trio includingAvery Sharpe on bass[23] andLouis Hayes,[24] thenAaron Scott, on drums.[25] He also recorded some solo albums for Blue Note, beginning withRevelations (1988)[26] and culminating inSoliloquy (1991).[27]After signing withTelarc, he recorded with several other trios. These includedCharnett Moffett on bass andAl Foster on drums. In 2008, he toured with a quartet ofGary Bartz,Gerald L. Cannon, andEric Gravatt.[9]
Tyner married Aisha Saud; they had three sons. The marriage ended in divorce.[28][29]
Tyner's younger brotherJarvis Tyner was executive vice-chairman of theCommunist Party USA.[30]
Tyner died at his home inBergenfield, New Jersey, on March 6, 2020. He was 81.[28][2] No cause of death was given, but he had been in ill health.[31]
Tyner is considered one of the most influential jazz pianists of the late 20th century, an honor he earned during and after his time with Coltrane.[32]
Tyner, who was left-handed, played with a low bass left hand and raised his arm high above the keyboard for an emphatic attack. His right-hand soloing was detached andstaccato. His melodic vocabulary was rich, ranging from rawblues to complexsuperimposedpentatonic scales; his approach to chord voicing (most characteristically by fourths) influenced contemporary jazz pianists, such asChick Corea.[33] Some of his harmonic modal techniques have been connected toClaude Debussy's music.[34]
Bob Weir, rhythm guitarist for theGrateful Dead, has cited Tyner as an influence on his playing.[35]
Tyner was named a 2002NEA Jazz Master by theNational Endowment for the Arts.[6] He won fiveGrammy Awards: forThe Turning Point (1992) andJourney (1993) and best instrumental jazz album forIlluminations (2004),Infinity (1995), andBlues for Coltrane: A Tribute to John Coltrane (1987).[36]
Tyner was awarded anHonorary Doctorate of Music fromBerklee College of Music at the Sala dei Notari during theUmbria Jazz Festival.[37] Tyner was a judge for the 6th, 10th[38] and 11th annual Independent Music Awards.[39]
| Impulse! (1962–1964) | |
|---|---|
| Blue Note (1967–1970) | |
| Milestone (1972–1981) | |
| Various (1981–1989) | |
| Various (1990–1994) | |
| Impulse! (1995–1997) | |
| Telarc (1999–2004) | |
| McCoy Tyner Music (2004–2009) | |
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| National | |
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