McCoy Tyner (1938-2020)

McCoy Tyner, whose hypnotically thunderous piano behind John Coltrane's saxophone in the 1960s, starting with My Favorite Things in 1961, launched a keyboard revolution, died on March 6. He was 81. [Photo above of McCoy Tyner at Regattabar in Cambridge, Mass., on February 11, 2012, by Bruno Vasil]

Tyner's percussive, stampede-like attack and vast use of modal scales and chord changes broke with the modernists of the post-war period. His distinct, churning attack developed artfully across several dozen leadership albums recorded well into the 2000s, ranging from his delicate early recordings of standards to his more expressive works later on.

Tyner remained in the Coltrane Quartet until 1965, when the saxophonist's freewheeling expressionism and incorporation of horns drowned out the pianist's contribution. Following his departure from Coltrane's quartet, Tyner was in strong demand as a leader and as a sideman on tours and in the recording studio. In the 1960s, Tyner's stormy, influential approach was adapted by many other gifted pianists, most notably Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea as well as fusion players of the 1970s.

Growing up, Tyner studied at West Philadelphia Music School and later at the Granoff School of Music. Early on, he recorded with Curtis Fuller (Imagination and Images of Curtis Fuller), Art Farmer (Meet the Jazztet), Freddie Hubbard (Ready for Freddie), Joe Henderson (Page One), Art Blakey (A Jazz Message) and Elvin Jones (Illumination), among others.

But his most powerful work remains his adventurous recordings as a leader that embraced pan-African motifs and a spiritualism that surely was influenced by his religion and outlook. Tyner converted to Islam at age 17 through the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

Here are 10 of my favorite Tyner tracks that illustrate his power and critical importance to the development of the jazz piano:

Here's Tyner on John Coltrane's famed cover of My Favorite Things, released in 1961...

Here's Wayne Shorter's House of Jade released on Juju in 1965...

Here's Tyner's Reaching Fourth from the album of same name, released in 1963...

Here's Passion Dance from Tyner's The Real McCoy, released in 1967...

Here's Ebony Queen from Sahara, released in 1972...

Here's Presence from Enlightenment, released in 1973...

Here's The Greeting from Supertrios, released in 1977...

Here's Uptown from Inner Voices, released in 1977...

Here's Latino Suite from Double Trios, released in 1986...

And here's Trane-Like from With Stanley Clarke and Al Foster, released in 1999...

JazzWax note: If you love McCoy Tyner as much as I do, you have a lot to collect. He recorded a considerably large number of albums over the years, particularly in the 1990s. A Tyner discography is here.