''I've never done anything like this before'' McCoy Tyner recently said of his second album on McCoy Tyner Music/Half Note Records, a CD/DVD titled GUITARS. Along with a trio of Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette, Tyner invite... more »d guitarists Bill Frisell, Derek Trucks, John Scofield, Marc Ribot, and banjoist Bela Fleck for the studio recording and DVD shoot, scheduled for a September 23 release. ''It was great, and each guy had his own concept and own sound which is very, very important on any instrument, '' said Tyner, ''You know, I look for that, the individual sound and concept. ''
Legendary producer John Snyder oversaw the project along with executive producers Jeff Levenson, VP of McCoy Tyner Muisc/Half Note Records, and Steve Bensusan, President of the Blue Note Jazz Club. Said Levenson, ''What impressed me about the project was how seamless the integration was. We have guys with disparate styles. You have guys who approach their instruments differently. The beauty of this project is how they all found common ground with McCoy. ''
The CD is accompanied by a state of the art DVD featuring songs with each special guest guitarist and bonus footage. The DVD has 3 hours of multiple-angle viewing capability. By clicking the ANGLE button on the remote or the player on a computer, one can watch the Editor s Cut on Angle 1, all four musicians at once with Angle 2 (4 quadrants), or isolate any of the musicians and watch them exclusively with Angles 3 through 6.
Tyner, who will turn 70 on December 11, is looking forward to the week-long celebration at the Blue Note in Manhattan that ends on his birthday. When asked about his recording future, Tyner thought for a time and spoke candidly. ''I think there is always something to do that you haven't done exactly. There's always that the idea of what else can I do, and something always comes up. No two days are the same. So we look forward to tomorrow cause that's going to be different from yesterday and today. Hopefully it's a good one! ''« less
''I've never done anything like this before'' McCoy Tyner recently said of his second album on McCoy Tyner Music/Half Note Records, a CD/DVD titled GUITARS. Along with a trio of Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette, Tyner invited guitarists Bill Frisell, Derek Trucks, John Scofield, Marc Ribot, and banjoist Bela Fleck for the studio recording and DVD shoot, scheduled for a September 23 release. ''It was great, and each guy had his own concept and own sound which is very, very important on any instrument, '' said Tyner, ''You know, I look for that, the individual sound and concept. ''
Legendary producer John Snyder oversaw the project along with executive producers Jeff Levenson, VP of McCoy Tyner Muisc/Half Note Records, and Steve Bensusan, President of the Blue Note Jazz Club. Said Levenson, ''What impressed me about the project was how seamless the integration was. We have guys with disparate styles. You have guys who approach their instruments differently. The beauty of this project is how they all found common ground with McCoy. ''
The CD is accompanied by a state of the art DVD featuring songs with each special guest guitarist and bonus footage. The DVD has 3 hours of multiple-angle viewing capability. By clicking the ANGLE button on the remote or the player on a computer, one can watch the Editor s Cut on Angle 1, all four musicians at once with Angle 2 (4 quadrants), or isolate any of the musicians and watch them exclusively with Angles 3 through 6.
Tyner, who will turn 70 on December 11, is looking forward to the week-long celebration at the Blue Note in Manhattan that ends on his birthday. When asked about his recording future, Tyner thought for a time and spoke candidly. ''I think there is always something to do that you haven't done exactly. There's always that the idea of what else can I do, and something always comes up. No two days are the same. So we look forward to tomorrow cause that's going to be different from yesterday and today. Hopefully it's a good one! ''
CD Reviews
McCoy and guests, just what you'd expect
Matthew Miller | New York, New York | 09/23/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I had no idea this was coming out until I saw it by chance in a store today and can now happily report that it is another excellent outing by the longstanding jazz master, McCoy Tyner in the middle of a phenomenal jazz trio with a number of distinguished guests. The trio consists of McCoy with Ron Carter on bass and Jack Dejohnette on drums. The guests are all either guitarists or in the case of Bela Fleck, a banjo player. The result is a varied, always interesting takes on a number of songs, including some Tyner standards, some classic Coltrane songs and a few of the guests' compositions for good measure.
The trio at the standard is exactly what you would expect, namely, superb. The skills of Tyner, Carter and Dejohnette have already in numerous places been praised, so I see no need to say anything other than that they live up to there reputations here. Especially Dejohnette, a personal favorite of mine, who constantly amazes with his sense of time, accent and space within the band. Only one person could have possibly done it better than him, in my opinion, and that would have been Elvin Jones. In the end, he and Ron Carter provide a very solid core over which McCoy and guests experiment. McCoy himself is continuing to go strong as he has in the past.
The guests, obviously, make this recording interesting, and there is a lot in there contributions. There are five of them (Marc Ribot, John Scofield, Bela Fleck, Derek Trucks and Bill Frisell) and each has a very distinctive style and repertoire. The result is that the album is varied, not so varied as to lack cohesion, but varied enough to remain interesting throughout. Their very specifics sorts of tones add a lot to the mix of the album. Trucks, for instance is very blues driven, while Scofield has a wider, more mellow tone. A personal favorite for me is Bela Fleck. Anyone familiar with his album with Chick Corea, 'The Enchantment', will know how versatile and talented he is. Here he plays three songs, two of his originals and 'My Favorite Things'. His compositions are probably the most interesting on the album, distinctive from the more standard sounding sorts of songs (like the Coltrane blues 'Mr PC') and they offer McCoy a different sort of space to some into musically. That being said, Bela also fits right in on 'My Favorite things' demonstrating some very healthy, sometimes Trane-like complicated licks. John Scofield is my next favorite. He really tears it up 'Mr PC', so much so, that McCoy remarks afterwards that the guitar had to have caught on fire.
Which brings me to my last point, and a great surprise for me, the Bonus DVD. The quote from Tyner cannot be found on the album itself, but on the DVD, which contains studio video of some of the songs from the album. For each song, there is a section while they warm up and discuss the way they will play the song, and then there is the song itself, followed by a brief period of conversation. The song is obviously the most interesting part, as you get to see the musicians actually performing. The best part of this arrangement, are the multiple camera angles. They had four cameras in the studio, one on each musician and there are six different viewing options. The first one is pre-edited and switches from musician to musician. The second one shows all angles simultaneously and the last four show just one specific musician (like Jack Dejohnette, all the way through the song). This was a very interesting feature, Which I had a lot of fun with, being able to watch the musicians work is incredibly impressive, to say the least.
All in All, this was a solid production. I do not think that it is the next 'A Love Supreme', but certainly worth looking into for fans of any of the musicians involved. You will not be disappointed."
All Star Trio and Interesting Mix of Different Guitar styles
Scott Williams | Oakland, CA United States | 01/24/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Overview:
Pianist McCoy Tyner teams up with jazz legends Ron Carter (bass) and Jack Dejohnette (drums) to form a powerful foundation in his new CD guitars. This trio is joined by 5 different special guest guitarists, Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Bela Fleck, Derek Trucks and Marc Ribot. While some Tyner fans might be disappointed that McCoy deviated from his typical albums, I welcome the change. This CD is a totally unique addition to McCoy's catalog and succeeds on many levels. The key to the success of this album is that they didn't go and pick the 5 best jazz guitarists. Instead they picked guitarists who have diverse styles each with their own strongly defined personality. While I'm not really a fan of Bela Fleck or Dereck Trucks, including them on this album was genious. Not only do they play great, but their unique style of playing adds great diversity to the album and provides some fascinating variations to some classic tunes. John Scofield and Bill Frisell fans will love the hearing these jazz guitar legends play for the first time with McCoy Tyner. Prior to listening to this album I was not familiar with Marc Ribot. At first listen his shredding electric style of playing seemed a little bit too much. However, on further listens I have really grown to love the versions of Passion Dance and 500 Miles. Passion Dance really is a burner of a tune and Ribot's electric assault really works. McCoy Tyner style plays with amazing dexterity and power. It is simply amazing at his age that he is still able to generate a tremendous wall of sound with his powerful left handed chords. In addition to being a great CD to listen to, a DVD is included with album that shows the group recording in the studio. It is wonderful to be able to hear the artists discuss and debate changes to the arrangements, and then to be able to see them record the music. The only knock against the DVD is at times it is hard to hear some of conversations they are having.
Song Highlights:
Mr PC - John Scofield is absolutely amazing on this classic John Coltrane tune. John plays a ripping version of the melody (usually played by a sax). McCoy has a nice piano solo as well, and when Scofield comes in towards the end of Tyner's solo with some 2 new chords on his guitar it is just magic. Ron Carter also has a nice bass solo on this one.
Contemplation - This has always been one of my favorite Tyner tunes. The title of the song is perfect for this deeply moving and reflective song. Frisell's style of play: the ability to play the same chord 10,000 different ways and his mastery of spacing fit perfectly into this tune.
Tradewinds - All of the tracks with Bela Fleck on this CD are unbelievable. This is coming from someone who is not a Bela Fleck fan. I would even go so far as to say that the Bela Fleck tracks are the best on the CD. Bela's banjo playing and McCoy's piano playing are surprisingly just the perfect fit for each. It was hard to pick the highlight of these tracks, but tradewinds was a new song to me and I love melody.
If you are a big fan of Tyner, Scofield and Frisell, like me you simply must go out and pick up this CD. Don't worry about some of the negative reviews on this site. You will not be disappointed.
"
Get over it
Craig Paterson | Melbourne, Australia | 12/26/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It seems to me that the bad reviews of this album come from people with narrow tastes in music. I think it is a great and inspiring record - it pushes the boundaries of what incredibly talented people can achieve.
I appreciate lots of different musics, and this showcases quite a few. I'm mainly into jazz these days, but I think the reviews that diss Ribot, Fleck and Trucks just don't get it. This is brave music that pushes the envelope - very successfully and enjoyably. I love the sheer musicality of it.
The DVD is revelatory - it sets the scene (if you want hollywood gloss, it ain't here, so go check out something more homogenised) these guys FEEL the music - they play with their hearts and fingers - there is not much thinking involved. I'd never heard of Derek Trucks before, but I searched out a copy of his 'songlines' straight after I heard this (not very jazz but very good). And I like quite a bit of Frisell's, Ribot's, and Scofield's stuff too."
This is fun! -)
J. Polak | Baltimore, MD United States | 11/16/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This collection is about McCoy Tyner playing with 5 very different fretted string players (4 guitars, 1 banjo). It's not so much about what the guitarist do, per se. All of the guest do what it is that they do. Bill Frisell plays with an economy of notes, tossing in county and blues chords and riffs and playing in a cool understated groove. Derek Trucks played like a real good blues player. etc... All the guest are great players and if you don't like any of them, chances are you won't like thier contribution on this collection either.
One thing is for sure; John Scofield and McCoy Tyner smoke. For the other players, you could feel McCoy adaping to the groove of the guitar/banjo player. With Scofield there was no adaptation nessesary. They both just jump right in.
The DVD is fun as well. With 74:20 Minutes on the CD and a packed DVD this is a great buy and although I have my favorites, I found it all interesting and fun to listen to."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1