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Mccoy Tyner

GNZGNZ 68 Posts
edited April 2005 in Strut Central
To me, this guy is probably the greatest pianon player alive.I appreciate all his work, from coltrane to wayne shorter to solos:saharaexpansionsthe real mccoytridentsupertriostender momentspretty much any blue note album...anyway, add some more.

  Comments

  • Sun_FortuneSun_Fortune 1,374 Posts
    Love the pianist and the man -- yet I've seen him in concert a coupla times and though he does bring fire, he seems to be playing too many notes in my opinion.

    I'm not sure if he was the best, but he was the best at what he did while he did it. The sad truth is that I think he peaked somewhere around 1964. Thats just MY opinion though. I know I'm wrong.
  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    Hey G,

    I gotta add on "Looking Out" (grown folks music) and "Reaching Fourth" (with his trio). I don't think he's the best either, but I definitely enjoy his playing and compositions.

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak
  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts
    Personally dude gets on my nerves after a while. And that LP where he tries to play the koto is just bad. I like his back up bands better than him. Having said all that he's better than I'll ever be when it comes to piano.
  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    Yo Volumen,



    I see your point, he's a bit "hyperactive" note-wise. My preference is for more sparse, melodic playing ala Ahmad Jamal, Hampton Hawes, Steve Kuhn, and Alice Coltrane among many others. Come to think off it, I like soloists to play this way in general which is why I prefer, for example, Miles Davis over Clifford Brown.



    Peace,



    Big Stacks from Kakalak
  • AaronAaron 977 Posts
    I agree. Without Trane, that sheets of sound sound with all of the pentatonic scales is too much.
  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    I agree. Without Trane, that sheets of sound sound with all of the pentatonic scales is too much.



    Great observation!!!! Yep, Trane brought sparse, flowing melody (e.g., "Central Park West") to the scene in constrast to all the egotistical, hyper-note playing, grandstanding that dominated before then.



    Peace,



    Big Stacks from Kakalak
  • AaronAaron 977 Posts
    Interesting... Are you saying that bop before Coltrane -- who entered his sheets of sound phase beginning with Giant Steps -- was more hectic than after Giant Steps? I won't argue that during Trane's earlier recordings -- pre-SoT -- he was an amazing melodic improviser, but I've always held that Coltrane was the high-priest for harmonic sax improvisation and even more so for a skronker of any musical inclination, whether it be a sax or a kazoo.
  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    Interesting... Are you saying that bop before Coltrane -- who entered his sheets of sound phase beginning with Giant Steps -- was more hectic than after Giant Steps? I won't argue that during Trane's earlier recordings -- pre-SoT -- he was an amazing melodic improviser, but I've always held that Coltrane was the high-priest for harmonic sax improvisation and even more so for a skronker of any musical inclination, whether it be a sax or a kazoo.

    Well, I can't totally say that because there were other guys playing sparsely early on too such as Chet Baker and Stan Getz (as two examples). My point is that Trane more or less popularized that style of playing on the bop scene though I would question whether he was the "originator". You could easily make the same argument for Miles Davis, couldn't you?

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak
  • AaronAaron 977 Posts
    Miles as SoT?
  • schnipperschnipper 528 Posts
    Personally dude gets on my nerves after a while. And that LP where he tries to play the koto is just bad. I like his back up bands better than him. Having said all that he's better than I'll ever be when it comes to piano.

    His koto shit is kind of weak, but the rest of that LP is fantastic. His Milestone LPs, at least the ones I own, are super duper.

    It's bizarre and a bit sad to listen to him on later Coltrane records (especially his solo on Ascension) where you know it just was not for him, and he didn't know what to do. Recording those albums must have been awkward.
  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts
    Yo Volumen,

    I see your point, he's a bit "hyperactive" note-wise. My preference is for more sparse, melodic playing ala Ahmad Jamal, Hampton Hawes, Steve Kuhn, and Alice Coltrane among many others. Come to think off it, I like soloists to play this way in general which is why I prefer, for example, Miles Davis over Clifford Brown.

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak


    (Not to turn this into another Pet Sounds).......but yes all those artists you listed impress me way more and also are in regular play at the crib. I recently gave Tyner one more chance and ended up unlaoding all his LP's except for Trident (i think??? the one with Ron Carter on the back photo)
  • aleitaleit 1,915 Posts
    I've always really felt much of McCoy Tyner's work on other projects, but I never fully got into his solo output from the 70's... I've got tons of respect and admiration for his art, but if we're gonna talk best piano players ever kind of business, i'm gonna have to put my vote in Andrew Hill's box. I'll also say that it was Cecil Taylor who got me into improvised jazz way back- when I first heard Live at Cafe Montmartre- my eardrums popped out- too many notes? yes... but brilliant.
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