b. Alfred McCoy Tyner, 11th December 1938, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
d. 6th March 2020, New Jersey, U.S.A.
McCoy Tyner is a highly respected pianist.
Born in Philadelphia in 1938, McCoy was encouraged to take up piano by his mother who also played the instrument.
He grew up in the same neighbourhood where Bud Powell and Richie Powell resided.
In his teens he gigged locally and met John Coltrane.
By the age of 17 he had his own group but in 1959 was invited to join Jazztet, a group led by Benny Golson.
In 1960 he joined a quintet let by John Coltrane before becoming a solo artist in 1963.
Between 1965 and 1970 he recorded for the Blue Note label before venturing into fusion jazz at Milestone Records until 1980.
These albums included 'Sahara', 'Song For My Lady', 'Atlantis', 'Trident', 'Fly With The Wind', 'Songs Of The New World', 'Echoes Of A Friend', 'Sama Layuca' and 'Horizon'.
with phyllis hyman
At CBS, his 1982 album 'Looking Out' featured vocals by Phyllis Hyman on the track 'Love Surrounds Us Everywhere'.
Also featured on the album were recording artists, Gary Bartz, Stanley Clarke and Carlos Santana.
McCoy continued to record and perform throughout the Nineties and into the new millennium.
He sadly passed away in March 2020. He was 81.
Albums:
Inception (Impulse! 1962)
Great Moments with Mccoy Tyner (MCA / Impulse! 1962)
McCoy Tyner: The Early Trios, Vol. 6 (ABC / Impulse 1962)
Inception/Nights of Ballads and Blues (MCA / Impulse 1962)
Re-evaluations: The Impulse Years (MCA / Impulse! 1962)
Nights of Ballads and Blues (Impulse! 1963)
Today and Tomorrow (GRP / Impulse! 1963)
Live at Newport (Impulse! 1963)
Reaching Fourth (Impulse! 1963)
McCoy Tyner Plays Ellington (GRP / Impulse! 1964)
The Real McCoy [Blue Note] (Blue Note 1967)
Tender Moments (Blue Note 1967)
Jazz Profile (Blue Note 1967)
Time for Tyner (Blue Note 1968)
Expansions (Blue Note 1968)
Cosmos (Blue Note 1969)
Extensions (Blue Note 1970)
Asante (Blue Note 1970)
Sahara (Milestone / OJC 1972)
Song for My Lady (Milestone / OJC 1972)
Echoes of a Friend (Milestone / OJC 1972)
Reflections: A Retrospective (1972-1975) (Milestone 1972)
Song of the New World (Milestone / OJC 1973)
Enlightenment (Milestone 1973)
Sama Layuca (Milestone 1974)
Atlantis (Milestone 1974)
Trident (Milestone / OJC 1975)
Fly with the Wind (Milestone / OJC 1976)
Focal Point (Milestone / OJC 1976)
Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett,... (Atlantic 1976)
Supertrios (Milestone 1977)
Inner Voices (Milestone 1977)
The Greeting (Milestone 1978)
Passion Dance (Milestone 1978)
Looking Out (Columbia 1982)
Paris Bossa (Moon 1984)
Blue Bossa (LRC 1991)
Double Exposure (LRC 1991)
Jazz Classics (Peter Pan 1995)
The Best of McCoy Tyner: The Blue Note Years (Blue Note 1996)
Priceless Jazz (GRP 1998)
Les Incontournables (WEA 2000)
