Jazz legend McCoy Tyner, one of the most influential of all post-bop piano players, with his trio plus saxophist Gary Bartz will share sets with a trio led by a young pianist of astonishing virtuosity and imagination, Cuban-born Alfredo Rodríguez. Rodríguez has been compared to legendary jazz pianists like Keith Jarrett, Thelonious Monk, Art Tatum, Bill Evans, and his compatriot Chucho Valdés. Discovered at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2006 by Quincy Jones, Rodríguez’s star has risen rapidly under the tutelage of the famed producer. Both trios will play separately each set at the Blue Note in New York on Thursday, September 1st through Sunday, September 4th.
McCoy Tyner’s music studies began at age 13 at the Granoff School of Music, where so many Philadelphia musicians began their music education. McCoy’s first professional affiliation of note was with the Jazztet in 1959. That band was co-led by trumpeter Art Farmer and saxophonist Benny Golson. McCoy made his first recording on the Jazztet’s debut, Meet The Jazztet, in February, 1960. When John Coltrane was plotting his departure from the Miles Davis Quintet, he tried several musicians for his new band. Eventually he made the wise decision to hire McCoy Tyner, and the rest is musical history.
Along with McCoy, the other members of the famed Coltrane Quartet included drummer Elvin Jones and either bassists Jimmy Garrison or Reggie Workman. Together they made some of the most compelling music of the 20th century. Soon McCoy Tyner was an in-demand session pianist as well. His commanding presence at the piano found a home on numerous great recordings. McCoy became a virtual “house pianist” for the Blue Note label, recording with a who’s who of great jazz, including sessions with Donald Byrd, Grant Green, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvin Jones, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Stanley Turrentine.... the list is auspicious.
In 1962 McCoy made his debut as a leader with Inception for the Impulse! label. After leaving the Coltrane quartet in 1965, McCoy found work in several different situations. Then in 1967 he cut The Real McCoy album for Blue Note, launching his career as a bandleader and occasional all-star sideman. What followed were six stellar recordings for Blue Note and performances with his own bands, ranging from trio to nonet. His recordings also included explorations with string quartet and voice. McCoy signed with the Milestone label in 1971, beginning yet another rich recording period. In the years since that time he has toured and recorded with numerous bands under his leadership, including his occasional big band, a powerful ensemble guaranteed to raise the roof. Always welcome on any bandstand, McCoy Tyner has continued to evolve one of the most original piano styles of the last 40 years.
Rodríguez’s first album - Sounds of Space - featuring original material and produced by Quincy Jones, will be released worldwide on Jones’s Qwest Records later this fall. Of Rodríguez, Jones said, “Alfredo is very special, and I do not say that easily because I have been surrounded by the best musicians in the world my entire life. He is one of the best.”
Blue Note Jazz Club is located at 131 W. 3rd St in New York. Call 212-475-8592 or visit http://www.bluenotejazz.com for more information.
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