Pianist McCoy Tyner is one of the working legends of his generation, an artist whose long and diverse career spans the heyday of bop, the emergence of Coltrane, and the evolution of the complex structures that are hallmarks of modern jazz. His percussive attack, orchestral voicings, and modal harmonics have influenced several generations of musicians, and his ongoing work exemplifies the life of a creative artist constantly seeking to grow and respond. In the context of this never-ending exploration, Tyner began an annual series of residencies at the famed Oakland club, Yoshi’s, back in 1995. Tyner celebrates eleven years of a gig that combines workshop and showcase with his usual two-week format: Week One (January 24-29) features the pianist in an amazing quartet with contemporary legends Joe Lovano (tenor sax), Dave Holland (bass), and Lewis Nash (drums). Week Two (January 31-February 5 will reunite Tyner with his 2005 compatriots of a younger generation, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, bassist Charnett Moffett, and drummer Eric Harland, along with vibes master Bobby Hutcherson.

Notes Yoshi’s Artistic Director Peter Williams, “It’s the most creative thing I get to do, pair people with McCoy…As long as he wants to keep doing it, there’s no end to the people who would love to play with him and who could make something magical happen musically.”

Alfred McCoy Tyner was born in Philadelphia in 1938. Encouraged by his parents to study music, he started formal lessons at thirteen, practicing on a neighbor’s piano. After his mother bought him his own piano a year later, Tyner began hosting his own jam sessions. At about the same time, he was exposed to global music through his junior high music teacher and involvement in a local dance studio, where he started studying African drumming, an influence that continues to infuse his music 50 years later.

Young Tyner’s interest in bop was galvanized by early encounters with musicians in the neighborhood, including Bud Powell, Lee Morgan, Archie Shepp, Bobby Timmons, and Reggie Workman. "Bud and Richie Powell moved into my neighborhood. Bud was a major influence on me during my early teens. He was very dynamic." Other early influences included classical composers such as Stravinsky and Debussy, as well as Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and Thelonious Monk, whose percussive style would leave an indelible imprint on Tyner. In addition to studies at the West Philadelphia Music School and later at the Granoff School of Music, teen Tyner played regularly at the Red Rooster, comping for visiting musicians. Here, at age 17, he first worked with fellow Philadelphian John Coltrane, who often used Tyner in his rhythm section whenever he played in town. Said Tyner later, “I never felt intimidated by John Coltrane, because I knew his mother, his cousin Mary, and his family. He used to pat me on the back, "This is my little brother, here."

Although Coltrane was interested in hiring McCoy Tyner as his regular pianist, it was sax virtuoso Benny Golson who first brought the young pianist to New York to join forces with Art Farmer in the first edition of the Jazztet. In 1960, when Coltrane left Miles Davis to form his own band, he hired Tyner and formed what many believe to be one of the greatest quartets in jazz, with Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. Experimenting with block chords and Eastern musical forms such as pentatonic scales and modal structures, Tyner played and recorded (Africa Brass, A Love Supreme, and My Favorite Things) with the rapidly rising sax star over the next five years. Noted Coltrane, “…McCoy has an exceptionally well developed sense of form, both as a soloist and accompanist. Invariably, in our group, he will take a tune and build his own structure for it. He is always looking for the most personal way of expressing himself.”

During the his years with Coltrane, Tyner also recorded on his own for Impulse!, releasing Inception, Night of Ballads and Blues, and Live at Newport. Switching to Blue Note, Tyner released widely acclaimed The Real McCoy in 1967, with saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Ron Carter, and fellow Coltrane alum Elvin Jones. Despite the focus on rock, which eroded interest in jazz in the late 1960s, Tyner refused to follow the trend toward electronic music. With an increasingly complex approach to harmony, he found a more appreciative audience in the 1970s; his recording Sahara on Milestone received two Grammy nominations and won the Down Beat Critics’ Poll “Album of the Year” for 1972. In 1978, as a member of the Milestone Jazzstars, he toured with Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter, and Al Foster. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Tyner remained productive across a broad range of groupings and styles, from solo and trio to big band, from inventive post bop to compositions embracing African and Latin themes. His primary working group in the late 1980s and through much of the 1990s included bassist Avery Sharpe and drummer Aaron Scott.

Now in his mid-60s, Tyner tours and records in varying combinations, often in the company of a new generation of musicians such as bassist Charnett Moffitt and drummer Eric Harland, who will join him for part of his residency at Yoshi’s. His recent recordings reflect the eclectic interests of this constantly evolving artist, from solo to big band to his latest quintet release, Illuminations (Telarc, 2004). Says Tyner, “My record dates are like a stew. You get a little of this, a little bit of that… Wherever I go—whether it’s Africa, Israel, South America or Asia-- I hear things. I try to draw on my experiences going to all these countries, and let the people and nature tell me what to do.”

The residency at Yoshi’s is uniquely Tyner, an opportunity that musicians relish. Said Ravi Coltrane, who joined Tyner for the 2004 gig, “It’s the perfect musical situation, to be with a legendary cat who’s playing as strong as he’s ever played. Obviously he’s got a signature sound as an improviser, but it’s there in his writing, too…There are a few people, like Monk and Wayne Shorter, whose playing and writing are connected. McCoy’s got that.” And bassist Christian McBride, also part of last year’s residency, noted that the project “is just a tribute to his artistic greatness. He never gets complacent…He’s playing those machine gun lines, just the sheer raw energy and organic power coming from the piano is as strong as ever.”

Yoshi’s Week 1 (January 24-29)

Photo by Andera Canter

A native of Wolverhampton, England, Dave Holland is a largely self-taught musician. He picked up the ukelele at age 4, then guitar at 10 and moved on to the bass guitar and local bands at 13. Inspired by the great Ray Brown at 17, he traded in his bass guitar for the upright double bass, and was soon sitting in at local jazz clubs. In London Holland played at Ronnie Scott's and toured with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Joe Henderson. A gig with Bill Evans in 1968 attracted the attention of Miles Davis. Soon Holland was in New York touring and recording with Davis, including participating in the In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew sessions. Through the 1970s, Holland worked with such diverse musicians as Chick Corea and the group Circle, Stan Getz, Thelonius Monk, Betty Carter, Sam Rivers, John Abercrombie and Jack DeJohnette. In the 1980s, Holland appeared on several Grammy-winning or nominated recordings. Focusing on his award-winning quintet and Big Band since the late 90s, Holland still finds time to tour and record with colleagues, with John Scofield, Joe Lovano and Al Foster (in 2002 as “Scolohofo”) and in a quartet with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Brian Blade.

Lewis Nash is one of the most in-demand drummers in modern jazz. Born in Phoenix, Nash began playing drums at age 10. By age 21, Nash was the “first call” jazz drummer in Phoenix, working with such touring artists as Sonny Stitt, Art Pepper, Red Garland, Lee Konitz, Barney Kessell and Slide Hampton. In 1981, Nash relocated to New York and joined Betty Carter’s trio, and later joined forces with Ron Carter. He played and recorded with Branford Marsalis, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Art Farmer, Clark Terry, Milt Jackson, Tommy Flanagan, and many other jazz legends as well as touring vocalists. These days he heads a variety of ensembles from duos to sextets, and is on the jazz faculty of Julliard.

Yoshi’s Week 2 (January 31-February 5)

The elder statesman of the acclaimed SF Jazz Collective, 64-year-old Bobby Hutcherson is one of the most influential vibraphonists in jazz history. Born in Los Angeles, he first studied piano with his aunt and was influenced by his family’s interest in jazz. (His brother was a friend of Dexter Gordon and his sister, a singer, later dated Eric Dolphy.) Hearing a Milt Jackson record as a teenager spuured him to take up the vibes, studying with Dave Pike. Gigs with Curtis Amy and Charles Lloyd and a band led by Al Grey and Billy Mitchell led him to New York’s Birdland in the early 1960s. Soon he was jamming with Grant Green, Hank Mobley, and Herbie Hancock, while his unorthodox approach to harmony produced associations with the era’s experimentalists, including Jackie McLean, Grachan Moncur III, Archie Shepp, Andrew Hill, and Eric Dolphy. Back in LA and working in a modal bop style, he played with Woody Shaw’s quintet, adding the marimba to his repertoire. Now living in the Bay Area, in recent years has recorded and performed with McCoy Tyner. Now living in the Bay Area. The Village Voice describes him as “mercurial, intense, and superbly inventive…the outstanding vibes player of his generation.”

Ravi Coltrane, as the son of John and Alice Coltrane, has managed to fight off comparisons to his father even while exploring John Coltrane’s music and making a career playing the same instrument. Only two years old when his father died, the younger Coltrane grew up listening to the music of the 1970s and 80s--James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, but did not really examine his father’s music until much later. Now in his late 30s, Ravi Coltrane has played with Elvin Jones, recently recorded with his mother and Jack DeJohnette, and has toured and recorded with his own groups. He was part of the McCoy Tyner residency at Yoshi’s last year.

Charnett Moffett is also the son of a jazz musician, Ornette Coleman’s drummer, Charles Moffett, Sr. A child prodigy, Charnett Moffett played on stage with his father at age 8, and went on to music studies at Julliard. At 16, he was playing in Wynton Marsalis’ band, and through the 1980s worked with such artists as Tony Williams and Stanley Jordan. In the 1990s, he worked with Ornette Coleman, Geri Allen, Kenny Garrett, and Cyrus Chestnut. In addition to touring with McCoy Tyner, Moffett has released a number of recordings, including his recent For the Love of Peace, featuring members of his musical family, brothers Codaryl and Mondre, sister Charisse, and wife Angela Moffett.

Drummer Eric Harland has been igniting rhythm sections with a long list of highly respected jazz musicians—from Betty Carter, McCoy Tyner, and Joe Henderson to Greg Osby, Jason Moran, and Kenny Garrett. A native of Houston, Texas, Harland was “discovered” at a high school workshop by Wynton Marsalis, who encouraged him to study in New York City. Starting with a full scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music, Harland’s career has been on a meteoric trajectory ever since. In addition to his numerous performance and recording credits, he has also collaborated with Terence Blanchard on a number of film scores. These days he regularly tours McCoy Tyner, Charles Lloyd, Jacky Terrasson, and Joshua Redman's acoustic trio, and is a member of the prestigious San Francisco Jazz Collective Group.

The McCoy Tyner Residency at Yoshi’s is a unique gathering of talent, driven by one of modern music’s true geniuses. Any jazz fan within commuting distance of the Bay Area will want to take this opportunity to attend at least one set in each format, quartet and quintet, and witness artistic creation first-hand.

Yoshi’s is located in Oakland, CA at Jack London Square (510 Embarcadaro West); for reservations call (510) 238-9200 or online at www.yoshis.com. The McCoy Tyner Residency runs January 24-29 (quartet) and January 31-February 5 (quintet); two shows (8 pm and 10 pm) per night except Sundays, 2 and 8 pm. For more about the residency at Yoshi’s, see the September 2004 issue of Down Beat.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites