Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » McCoy Tyner Trio in Tune With One Another

304

McCoy Tyner Trio in Tune With One Another

By

View read count
McCoy Tyner Trio
2006 Jazz Winnipeg Festival
Manitoba Theatre Center
June 22, 2006

McCoy Tyner brought his trio to town and they did not disappoint an enthusiastic Winnipeg crowd. Along with bassist Charnett Moffett and drummer Eric Kamau Gravatt, Tyner showed why he is still one of the best pianists in improvised music. His group as a whole also demonstrated a sense of cohesiveness and interaction that is hard to find.

The trio began the concert with a Tyner original from his recent Land of Giants album, entitled "Manalyuca . The leader opened with a heavily chorded solo; Moffett was next, tapping the bow on the strings of his instrument, creating a most exotic timbre. The bass solo concluded with some incredibly quick pizzicato work.

Moffett's playing that evening was astounding, as he demonstrated a strong technique to go along with some very creative and original ideas, utilizing the bow to the tap the strings was just one. Admittedly, this above sentence merely described further my initial notes that read, Charnett = MONSTER.

Following a reading of Tyner's "Ballad for Aisha , the three men simply cooked on another composition from the pen of the leader, "Steppin' , a song that includes many Tyneresque licks sprinkled throughout its theme On this tune the bass and drums dropped out about halfway through, allowing Tyner an opportunity to improvise freely over the changes.

Moffett and Gravatt then left the stage while Tyner remained and performed a beautiful solo rendition of "For All We Know .

It was noticeable that Tyner's trio was in tune with one another, playing together as a group in a way that was most impressive. At times the musicians all soloed simultaneously, yet not in cacophonous fashion; all were contributing to the "whole , taking the music up another level.

Tyner played with his usual intensity and passion. His solos were often built upon clusters on chords that emanated forcefully from the keyboard.

To see two legends in two days (Bobby Huctherson's quartet had performed the previous evening) who are both still vitally important musicians on their respective instruments, was truly wonderful. It's a shame these opportunities are all too rare.

Photo Credit
Garry Geer

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

Jazz article: Bark Culture At Solar Myth
Jazz article: Hingetown Jazz Festival 2025
Jazz article: Hayley Kavanagh Quartet At Scott's Jazz Club

Popular

Read Take Five with Pianist Irving Flores
Read Jazz em Agosto 2025
Read Bob Schlesinger at Dazzle
Read SFJAZZ Spring Concerts
Read Sunday Best: A Netflix Documentary
Read Vivian Buczek at Ladies' Jazz Festival

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.