Rest in peace, McCoy Tyner

[Steve F.]

When I was 16 1/2, and living in Wheaton, MD with my parents, the Villa Rosa in Silver Spring, which was a restaurant with jazz programing at night, had McCoy Tyner booked.

I was an insane Coltrane freak and I just HAD to go! I had two friends that were even younger who also wanted to go (I could drive and they could not). But we were all underage.

What to do? So, I called the restaurant and explained that I wanted to see the show and my friends did as well, and could they accommodate underage people?

The manager got on and he said that he was working that night and that the he and the venue and Mr Tyner and his group would be very happy to see young, enthusiastic jazz fans coming out to see them! He said for me to ask for him when I got there and he would make certain that we were seated and taken care of.

"One more thing," he said, "IF I see you little twerps trying to buy alcohol, I'll kick your asses out of there so fast, you won't know what happened!"

"Yes, sir."

We went, got a good seat, were treated well and I saw a wonderful performance. From the first note, YES! McCoy 1000% had THAT SOUND!

It was my first time in a jazz club and it is a memory I will always hold very dear.

rest in peace, McCoy Tyner.

[per anporth]

Ach.

This feels like the severing of a thread - that still bound us to the astonishing achievements of the magical Quartet.

Each of them had "that sound" - each were instantly identifiable, yet even then, the whole that they created transcended the sum of these glorious parts.

Thanks for sharing that lovely story, Steve.

I'm off to immerse myself in Sun Ship (McCoy's solo during the first half of the title track is stunning...& then Trane comes in, as if he has been inspired by McCoy to explore the furthest dimensions of his art)

[Steve F.]

I'm off to immerse myself in Sun Ship (McCoy's solo during the first half of the title track is stunning...& then Trane comes in, as if he has been inspired by McCoy to explore the furthest dimensions of his art)

Another story:

When I was 14-15 and trying to teach myself about music and difficult music and jazz, the Wheaton Library had a few albums that I kept taking out over and over again:

One of them (their only Coltrane) was "Sun Ship".

I played the hell out of that one, trying to understand it. I knew they were considered 'masters' and I could tell they could play but, but, but, but.... it was a hard listen for a 14 year old trying to teach himself with no one to speak with about what it was and what it represented...

and then, gradually, like fog dissolving, I GOT it.

Sun Ship remains one of my very favorite Coltranes!!!!

[Buddhabreath]

Great stories Steve. Yep, first heard him as part of Coltrane's quartet. Obviously a distinctive and seminal figure in the jazz piano world. Thus the giants fall. RIP.

[aith01]

Wow... So sad to hear this. Tyner was one of the greats, and what a legacy to leave behind.

Thanks for sharing those stories, Steve. Getting to go see McCoy Tyner in a jazz club at 16, and for the venue to let you all in to see the show -- simply incredible. Sounds like a great memory to have.

[per anporth]

Another story:

When I was 14-15 and trying to teach myself about music and difficult music and jazz, the Wheaton Library had a few albums that I kept taking out over and over again:

One of them (their only Coltrane) was "Sun Ship".

I played the hell out of that one, trying to understand it. I knew they were considered 'masters' and I could tell they could play but, but, but, but.... it was a hard listen for a 14 year old trying to teach himself with no one to speak with about what it was and what it represented...

and then, gradually, like fog dissolving, I GOT it.

Sun Ship remains one of my very favorite Coltranes!!!!

Man, I have so many records from when I was that age where this story holds true (VdG's Vital springs immediately to mind - I bought it after only having heard Theme 1, assuming it would be more of the same!).

Sun Ship sounds to me like the session where the group reached deepest, or furthest, into the core, the soul, the very spirit of their music. It's like raw passion turned into music.

[proggy_jazzer]

I don't have any direct memories like the very cool one shared above, but besides the classic quartet sides, I played the absolute crap out of The Real McCoy during the period when I was learning the jazz vocabulary. Listening to that record puts me in a very specific frame of mind and place/time in my life. What a legacy, and what a player.

[walt]

Another giant has left us.RIP and thanks for the music.

[Mascodagama]

When I was 16 1/2, and living in Wheaton, MD with my parents, the Villa Rosa in Silver Spring, which was a restaurant with jazz programing at night, had McCoy Tyner booked.

I was an insane Coltrane freak and I just HAD to go! I had two friends that were even younger who also wanted to go (I could drive and they could not). But we were all underage.

What to do? So, I called the restaurant and explained that I wanted to see the show and my friends did as well, and could they accommodate underage people?

The manager got on and he said that he was working that night and that the he and the venue and Mr Tyner and his group would be very happy to see young, enthusiastic jazz fans coming out to see them! He said for me to ask for him when I got there and he would make certain that we were seated and taken care of.

"One more thing," he said, "IF I see you little twerps trying to buy alcohol, I'll kick your asses out of there so fast, you won't know what happened!"

"Yes, sir."

We went, got a good seat, were treated well and I saw a wonderful performance. From the first note, YES! McCoy 1000% had THAT SOUND!

It was my first time in a jazz club and it is a memory I will always hold very dear.

rest in peace, McCoy Tyner.

It’s a sad day. All of the classic quartet gone now. But he was so much more than a part of that. I’ll be spinning The Real McCoy later.

That is a wonderful story.

[dropforge]

Aw, man. RIP. I love his solo piano record Revelations.

[Shadow]

I saw him at Towson State late 70's or early 80's. I always liked Fly With The Wind. Rest In Peace.

[spacefreak]

A giant!

[walt]

New York Times obit.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/a...yner-dead.html

[StarThrower]

I'm sorry to hear this news. He was a tremendous musician and artist. I've never heard any other player who could create the bristling electric energy on the acoustic piano like McCoy. Although I'm mainly a fan of his Milestone period, his Blue Note albums, Extensions, and The Real McCoy are classics.

[Trane]

yikes, this one hurts like hell

My fave pianist, bar none.

RIP, McCoy

[GeneTull]

Sad new. The Trimaximalist has touted Tyner in several segments, including this one:


There's a review of that album here:
https://jazzrocksoul.com/albums/mcco...the-wind-1976/

[Mister Triscuits]

When I first began exploring jazz I started listening to jazz radio stations to see what I liked. One of the first things to catch my ear was McCoy Tyner's big band version of "Afro Blue" from Song of the New World. I couldn't find that album right away, so instead I made my first jazz LP purchase another album that had Tyner playing on that tune: Coltrane's Live at Birdland.

Fly with the wind, McCoy.

[SunshipVoyager1976]

Ah, Sun Ship- one of my favorite of the latter Coltrane records (as my nick gives away of course) ...

Not much to add- McCoy was a titan of the music, and a really gentle soul and decent human to boot. He shall be missed.

2020 can seriously suck a bag so far. Damn!

[Zeuhlmate]

RIP

[Dana5140]

This loss has hit with Huge force. Coltrane and Tyner were so fundamental to my growth as a person, to my understanding of music, that I cannot fathom this. I never knew of Coltrane until after he had died, but I followed Tyner forward for the rest of my life. I got to see him live only once, on a chance visit to the Village Vanguard while visiting an aunt in Livingstone, NJ. 1975 or so! He had a quintet, with 2 sax players, drums and bass, and the music was volcanic- very rarely have I seen such power in a band, with shrieking saxes and Tyner's modal playing. He never stopped questing, was a good man, a tzadik. I will play "Walk Spirit Talk Spirit" in his honor.

[Poisoned Youth]

This sucks.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Damn. Tyner's solo discog was probably the first I explored (after Coltrane of course) once I started to seriously investigate jazz. I love things like Enlightenment, Sahara, and Atlantis. Always a spark in Coltrane's quartet as well.

RIP

[spellbound]

Rest in peace, Mr. Tyner. What an awesome musician.

[Trane]

McCoy was the last member of Trane's mythic quartet

Rest in peace, Mr. Tyner. What an awesome musician.

Yup, the man's left hand was amazing, playing what I'd call a second lead, making him instantly recognizeable

Most of his 70's "solo" albums are highly enjoyable and likely to please all "progheads" - even those that have an aversion towards jazz

[Zappathustra]

The combination of superhuman dexterity with overflowing emotion makes McCoy Tyner the greatest piano player ever for me, or the one who has touched me more deeply. A sense of brain and heart becoming a single, perfect organ.

His art is immortal. Fly away good prince.