McCoy Tyner

• Genre: Bop
• Hometown: Philadelphia

About

McCoy Tyner has always been one of the most emotionally expressive pianists in jazz. In contrast to Thelonious Monk's ironic understatements and Herbie Hancock's lush detachment, Tyner is a man possessed. Bearing the profound spiritual influence of John Coltrane, with whom he played for five solid years, Tyner's playing is pure romanticism: effusive, grandiose, explosive, yearning, pleading. His style, based in Post Bop modal jazz, features harmonic inversions and gradually climbing melodies, built up to a fever pitch and resolved in crashing pedal chords. On quieter material, he tends to employ baroque-sounding flutters, trills, and sixteenth-note decorations. Tyner's solo career reached a peak in the early ‘70s; he has also thrived throughout the ‘90s through a large body of recent work. His recent recorded output includes everything from big band arrangements of his classic ‘60s repertoire to duets with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, along with solo and small ensemble sessions as well.

- Noah Enelow