Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » McCoy Tyner: Counterpoints

McCoy Tyner: Counterpoints

By AAJ Staff
December 7, 2004
Sign in to view read count

McCoy Tyner has basically been making the same insanely luscious and gorgeously dense modal music for nearly 40 years now. Which means that Counterpoints , which consists of five unreleased live tracks from a 1978 Tokyo concert (others were issued in 1979 on the currently unavailable Passion Dance ), is unlikely to offer anything new to anybody who's got more than a passing familiarity with the legendary pianist's work.

That said, the sound is clear, Tyner is in excellent form and the trio, with Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums, could scarcely be hardier. Packing two solo cuts ("Sama Layuca" and "Aisha") and a Tyner-Carter duet ("Prelude to a Kiss") between extended opening and closing trio tracks, the disc would serve well as a Tyner sampler for the uninitiated, while for the fanatic there's "Iki Masho (Let's Go)," the previously unreleased Tyner composition which closes the record. For the rest of us—as good as Counterpoints is—it's just one more disc to put on the shelf.

Track Listing

The Greeting; Aisha; Sama Layuca; Prelude to a Kiss; Iki Masho Lets Go.

Personnel

McCoy Tyner

piano

Ron Carter

bass

Tony Williams

drums

Album information

Title: Counterpoints | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Milestone

< Previous
Que Viva Coltrane

Next >
New York-Philly Junction

Comments

About McCoy Tyner

Instrument: Piano

Tags

For the Love of Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help

To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.