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

250

McCoy Tyner: Jazz Roots

By

View read count
McCoy Tyner: Jazz Roots
Perhaps Jazz Roots can be dubbed McCoy Tyner's "thank you" album as the great pianist pays homage to those masters of the keyboard, both those who preceded him and his contemporaries, like Fats Waller, Bud Powell, Art Tatum, Erroll Garner and Earl "Fatha" Hines. Tyner also recognizes individuals who composed the great music which allowed accomplished artists like himself to show off their considerable skills to the best advantage. There are tunes here by Duke Ellington (of course), Thelonious Monk, George Shearing, W.C. Handy, Erroll Garner, as well as some of Tyner's own material. In fact, his "Happy Days", which he dedicates to Keith Jarrett, is a most attractive cut with its exuberance, strong harmonies and Tyner obvious delight with his composition.

Tyner, who is entering his 5th decade as a performer runs the table with this tribute album. There are lovely, sentimental, romantic ballads like "Sweet and Lovely" and "My Foolish Heart", jagged edged pieces like Monk's "Pannonica", bop with "A Night in Tunisia", swing with "Lullaby of Birdland" and Ellington with "Don't Get Around Much Anymore". An outstanding track on an album filled with outstanding tracks is his tribute to Hines "Blues for Fatha". It's classic Hines, with those dazzling runs, with refinements added by Tyner. An unbeatable combination. As befits a performer of Tyner's caliber, it's all done with consummate skill, sensitivity to the music and unparalleled improvisational art. There is little that one can write about a personage like Tyner that hasn't already been written many, many times before. Suffice it to say that Jazz Roots is another memorable and special performance by a Hall of Fame jazz pianist and is highly recommended. Visit the Jazz Resource Center at www.jazzcenter.org for an interesting discussion of Tyner's life and music.

Track Listing

A Night In Tunisia; Pannonica; My Foolish Heart; Don

Personnel

McCoy Tyner

Album information

Title: Jazz Roots | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Telarc Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.