Jazz Police - The McCoy Tyner Trio With Gary Bartz: "Homecoming" at the Dakota, December 8-9

The McCoy Tyner Trio With Gary Bartz: "Homecoming" at the Dakota, December 8-9

Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor

Sunday, 05 December 2010

McCoy Tyner © Andrea Canter

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 harmonies have influenced several generations of musicians, and his ongoing work exemplifies the life of a creative artist constantly seeking to grow and respond. Tyner passed 70 recently but is hardly considering retirement. The first national artist to ever play at the Dakota Jazz Club (in 1988), he returns now to help the club celebrate its 25th anniversary. He’ll bring along his long standing trio (Gerald Cannon and Eric Kamau Gravatt) along with frequeht cohort, saxophonist Gary Bartz, for two nights, four sets, December 8-9. This quartet last appeared in the Twin Cities at Orchestra Hall in 2009.

McCoy Tyner Quartet©Greg Grieco

Born in Philadelphia in 1938, Alfred McCoy Tyner was encouraged by his parents to study music, and started formal piano lessons at thirteen on a neighbor’s piano. Soon he began hosting his own jam sessions and was introduced to 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. 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. As a teenager, Tyner played regularly at the Red Rooster, where, at age 17, he first worked with fellow Philadelphian John Coltrane. Sax virtuoso Benny Golson 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.

Gary Bartz©Marcel Mutsaers

During his years with Coltrane, Tyner also recorded on his own for Impulse and then Blue Note. 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; and through the following three decades, has 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. Now 70, Tyner still tours and records, often in the company of a new generation of musicians such as Charnett Moffett, Ravi Coltrane, and Terell Stafford. His 2005 release, Illuminations, earned Tyner his fourth Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental album. Tyner was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2002, and in 2008 received the Presidential Merit Award from the Grammy Foundation. His latest release, Guitars, features Tyner in the company of some of the finest guitarist in jazz and beyond-- Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, John Scofield, Derek Trucks, and Bela Fleck. Later this spring, he will release a solo set recorded live in San Francisco.

Gerald Cannon©dariovilla.net

Recently celebrating #70, Grammy-winning saxophonist Gary Bartz has worked with a Who’s Who of modern jazz, from Charles Mingus and Art Blakey to Miles Davis and Jackie McLean. The Baltimore native graduated from Juilliard and played with the Max Roach/Abbey Lincoln Group before joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the mid 1960s. He was also a member of Charles Mingus’ Jazz Workshop during this period, and had his first collaborations with McCoy Tyner in the late 60s, including appearing on the Expansions and Extensions recording sessions. He was invited to join Miles Davis in the early 70s, playing in the famed Isle of Wight Festival of 1970. In the early 70s, Bartz founded his funk/soul/fusion/avant garde Ntu Troop. Over the next thirty years, Bartz recorded and toured in various formats on both alto and soprano, appearing as leader on more than 30 albums and as sideman on more than 100. He’s appeared frequently with McCoy Tyner in recent years.

Eric Kamau Gravatt©Andrea Canter

A native of Racine, WI, young Gerald Cannon followed his guitarist-father’s footsteps into music. His first professional gigs at age 12 were as bassist for his father’s group, Gospel Expressions. As a physical education major at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, he met the great bassist Milt Hinton, and soon transferred to the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music to study jazz and classical bass and piano; he also studied art at Marquette University. He formed first band, Gerald Cannon’s Jazz Elements, before relocating to New York where he initially collaborated with Russell Malone, Winard Harper and Justin Robinson. Later he gained invaluable experience with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Cedar Walton, Jimmy Smith, Frank Foster, Stanley Turrentine and more. A big break came when he joined Roy Hargrove’s band, touring with the trumpeter for seven years. He went on to work with Elvin Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Pat Martino, Louis Hays, Abbey Lincoln, Steve Turre and more, as well as leading his own quartet.

An alum of Weather Report and the bands of McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Blue Mitchell and others, Eric Kamau Gravatt essentially has had two careers in jazz with a couple decades of separation. Like Coltrane and Tyner, he is a native of Philadelphia. Originally a conga player, Gravatt taught percussion and music in Philadelphia and Washington, DC in the 1960s and first played with McCoy Tyner at age 21. Miles Davis invited him to join his band, but Gravatt turned down the Prince of Darkness to follow Wayne Shorter into Weather Report, replaced after a while for a more “bottom heavy” drummer. He moved on to the fusion band Natural Life (with Bobby Peterson and Bob Rockwell), a move that brought him to the Twin Cities some 30 years ago. Demands of family and a desire for financial stability took Gravatt out of fulltime music and into fulltime work as a guard at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Lino Lakes. Only recently, after retiring from Lino Lakes, has Gravatt returned to his calling, again touring with McCoy Tyner and leading his own band, Source Code. Of Gravatt, Tyner notes, "He is a fantastic artist...He listens and responds."

The McCoy Tyner Trio with Gary Bartz performs at the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant at 1010 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis on December 8-9; two sets, 7 and 9:30 pm. These performances may be sold out -- contact the club for availability at 612-332-1010; www.dakotacooks.com

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