“To me living and music are all the same thing. And I keep finding out more about music as I learn more about myself, my environment, about all kinds of different things in life. I play what I live… I can't predict the directions in which my music will go. I just want to write and play my instrument as I feel.” -–McCoy Tyner

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. This week (May 9-14), Tyner and his working trio (Charnett Moffet on bass, Eric Kamau Gravatt on drums) will settle in at the Blue Note in Manhattan with special guest, Savion Glover.

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."

Eric Kamau Gravatt, photo by Andrea Canter

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 Charnett Moffett, Ravi Coltrane, and Terell Stafford. His 2005 release, Illuminations, was awarded a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental album. For the past year, Tyner’s trio has featured bassist Charnett Moffet and long-time collaborator, drummer Eric Kamau Gravatt.

Charnett Moffett