When you think of cities rich with a jazz heritage, what comes to your mind? New York, Chicago, New Orleans. Maybe Los Angeles. Well, piano legend McCoy Tyner, having just released “Quartet”, the first of three promised discs on his own label McCoy Tyner Music, puts up a strong argument for a city unfairly overlooked by the jazz conventional wisdom: his hometown Philadelphia. Most people don’t realize that the city of Brotherly Love is home to a plethora of jazz giants, to list a few: Heath Brothers, the Brecker Brothers, Buddy DeFranco, teaching legend Vince Trombetta, Pat Martino, Gerry Mulligan, Lew Tabackin, Shirley Scott, Stanley Clarke, Lee Morgan and Benny Golson, not to mention John Coltrane. Now living in Manhattan, and about to start a tour promoting his disc, Tyner reflects on the city that gave the foundation for his formidable career.
“It was a great city to grow up in, I’ll tell you, states Tyner. “ I now love living in Manhatten, but I’m glad I grew up in Philly. I think that people are culturally inclined there. My mother was a beautician, and I used to have my piano in her beauty shop, because that was the biggest room in the house! So, I eventually reached the age where we could have jam sessions with some of the older guys, along with some of the guys from my generation like Lee (Morgan). That was the biggest room in the house, so you could walk by and start jamming. She’d have clients doin’ their hair during our jamming! It was an amazing experience.”
Not only did the music scene influence Tyner’s early years, but his early church life helped set the stage for Tyner’s musical temperament. “I grew up in a Baptist church. My mom would take me to Sunday School, and then I’d have to stay after that and hear the main message in the church. That was Mt. Olivet Baptist church. I remember sitting next to my mother, and she’d really get the spirit in her, and she jumped up and scared me, but my brother said, ”Don’t worry, it’s ok.” And it was a good thing, because she felt the sermon, and she wanted to express herself.”
“My faith got me through everything. It’s not about being extreme; it’s about reconciling things about yourself, what you’re about. You just need to find where that love is, and appreciate how you got to that point.” This way of thinking makes much more sense in light of such seminal recordings as “A Love Supreme.” “I wake up every day and thank God I’m here,” grins Tyner.
“I used to play gigs around Philly with Benny Golson, and John (Coltrane) moved into the neighborhood. I was happy as I could be for the stage I was at, and Benny said, “Look, I’d like to go California. San Francisco. Would you like to go with me?” Why, that’s 3000 miles away, and no one leaves Philly, that’s why it’s such a great environment with all of these local guys. So I went to the West Coast, and my High School turned out to be (organist) Jimmy Smith’s wife! Jimmy was from Philly. She was the choir teacher. My parents were encouraging me to play. We had the Grimes brothers from South Philly, and the Heath Brothers had jam sessions at their house also.”
Tyner’s unique styling, now a major influence to the majority of present day pianists, is also a result of his hometown. “I first started taking private lessons from a guy who taught my neighbor, and my mother liked piano, so she asked me “would you like to play piano?” And I said, “I’d love that.” That was Mr. Abeshai, and he loved children, and I was one of his students. He was very patient, with a very mild mannered voice. You could see why he taught kids.” As he got older, Tyner’s piano technique got a major illumination. He explains, “ Bud Powell’s family was from Pennsylvania. Bud had been to New York, playing with Bird and Miles. But, he was into his own world, walking around the streets (of Philly), living right around the corner from me in an apartment building with his brother Ritchie, who was with Clifford Brown. So, Ritchie had an apartment, and while he was on the road, Bud would stay there. And Bud would be walking up and down the street, looking around here and there. One time I was practicing, and I turned around, and there was Bud Powell outside the door just watching me. That really intimidated me. He influenced me at that time.”
“I always wanted my sound. Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell were always my heroes on the piano, and I liked that they had their own sound. So, I thought, “Hey, that’s the way to go. Follow your own dreams, inclinations, and your own self.” Because that’s what they were doing. That was the way to go. I didn’t want to sound like anyone. That’s not the ideal way to think. You have your own internal feelings about music, so find out what they are.”
Becoming world famous via his work with the classic John Coltrane Quartet, Tyner’s piano styling at that time (early 60s) went through a major transformation. Comparing his work on his legendary recordings as a leader on Blue Note and Milestone recordings with his “supporting” role with Coltrane, Tyner reveals how his sideman years set the stage for his highly influential approach to the ivories. “Playing with him was just at another level of thinking. I was an accompanist, and I wanted to accompany him the best way I could. So I was always really listening to him, and by listening to him, I learned so much by trying lay a carpet for him and what he was doing.”
“That was my purpose. I faithfully believe that accompanying somebody like that was very important. Soloing was important to me at that time, but I learned so much more by listening. My ears were wide open, and it’s a good thing, because I grew just so much just by that experience of listening to John. When he played a big cluster of notes, moving somewhere out there, I had to go out there with him! I couldn’t let him stand there alone.”
As recent reissues from Milestone and Mosaic demonstrate, Tyner’s late 60’s and early 70s portrays a unique and creative approach to piano playing. What is even more impressive is that Tyner was able to put out such an impressive body of work without succumbing to the trend of the time, plugging into electronic devises. While seemingly everybody else was jumping onto the then-current fusion bandwagon, Tyner tenaciously kept to his musical vision, and stayed with the acoustic piano, one of the very few to do so.”I didn’t want to go that way. I shied away from electronics. Tyner explains. “I didn’t really get involved with it. I had an electric piano that I sometimes took on the road with me, but that’s all. I refused to plug in. I respected the guys who were that way, and that they got enjoyment out of it. But that was good for them; I didn’t like the feel of it. I knew that it would take me into a different way of playing, and I didn’t want to do that.”
Tyner’s latest release features such stalwarts as saxist Joe Lovano, drummer “Tain Watts” and bassist Christian McBride. Explaining the chemistry within this quartet, as opposed to the more familiar trio format with which he’s toured the past few years, Tyner states, “I stopped the trio because I like to write, and I wanted to write arrangements for a bigger band. My early bands had alto, trumpet and tenor in Philly, when Lee worked for me, before he left for Dizzy Gillespie’s big band. He was a child prodigy. I always liked horns in my band.We conceptualized about it. I met Joe, and he’s a wonderful guy and player. We became friends. And McBride’s from Philly, so what can I tell you?”
Fronting a quartet with horn legend Gary Bartz, Tyner will come to Catalina’s in November, featuring some of his most famous work. With all of the reissues of his earlier works hitting the streets, what can the music fan expect from the stage? “You got to be careful, I might pull one over on you. I’m from Philly, don’t forget!”
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