McCoy Tyner - 1977 [2006] "Supertrios"

Supertrios is a 1977 album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, his eleventh to be released on the Milestone label. It was recorded in April 1977 and features performances by Tyner with two rhythm sections: Ron Carter and Tony Williams, and Eddie Gómez and Jack DeJohnette.

I've owned this on vinyl the year it came out, on CD, and now as a download; it remains as wonderful as it was more than three decades ago. The Gomez-DeJohnette tunes are slightly overshadowed by the Carter/Tony Williams cuts, but only because Ron and Tony are absolute killers on this record; IMHO, this may be the best work that TW did in that decade. Particularly wonderful is the reading of Jobim's "Wave", which bears the same relationship to most placid bossa nova readings of the tune (including Jobim's original) as being caught on the crest of a icy 30 foot Pacific storm wave off Half-Moon Bay does to relaxing with your toes in the water on the beach in Rio: it STARTS intense, loud and fast (the sample above is from the very start of the tune, before McCoy even gets to a theme statement) and then gets more so. They relent for half a chorus here and there, and then McCoy's left hand slams down again and all three lean into the storm. "Moment's Notice" and "I Mean You" get the same treatment.

None of this should detract from Eddie Gomez' and Jack DeJohnette's wonderful second half, but it's more subdued playing, and what an act to have to follow. . .

The sound is crackling fresh on the piano, though I think I'm hearing some "the dreaded bass direct" in Ron Carter's bass mix. The drum sound is clean and well-defined; I think I could probably tell Jack from Tony on this recording if you gave me only an isolated snippet of ride cymbal from each, their sounds are so distinct on this package.

This album features the great pianist McCoy Tyner with two separate trios, either bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams or bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette. The former session, which has a Tyner/Williams duet on "I Mean You" and a collaboration between Tyner and Carter on "Prelude to a Kiss," is the more interesting of the two, with the pianist interacting with Miles Davis's former rhythm section on six highquality songs. But the Gomez-DeJohnette date (which includes four Tyner compositions plus "Stella by Starlight" and "Lush Life") also has its classic moments. Throughout, the percussive and highly influential pianist sounds inspired by the opportunity to create music with his peers. Recommended.

Tyner's playing on this recording is similar to his earlier Trident album. I've always been attracted to Tyner's playing and his ability to get "his" sound out of the acoustic piano. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of his keyboard presentations is how his style and attack have changed over the years. When still a teenager and playing with Benny Golson's The Jazztet, his approach was based on long harmonic lines of beauty and facility. Later with Coltrane and his own albums for Impulse things started to become a bit more forceful and aggressive. This 1977 album (and the previously mentioned Trident) presents Tyner in his most percussive form. The term "Supertrios" refers to the fact that the CD is made up of two different rhythm sections (Elvin Jones and Ron Carter on tracks 1-6 and Jack DeJonnet and Eddie Gomez on tracks 7-12). Both rhythm sections meld perfectly with Tyner. While some of the songs are a bit bombastic at times, the listener is never left without a path to follow. For jazz pianists, Tyner's artistic use of modes, his lighting-fast keyboard gymnastics, and his tasteful use of pentatonics should be high points of interest. Elvin Jones is (as always) a churning powerhouse but never gets in the way. And bassist Eddie Gomez presents well placed notes and enhanced rhythmic support. While this Milestone recording (produced by Orrin Keepnews) is not billed as a remastered version, the sonics are superb. This is McCoy Tyner at his best and one to have if you are a Tyner fan.

Track listing

    "Wave" (Jobim) - 7:27
    "Blues on the Corner" - 6:28
    "I Mean You" (Hawkins, Monk) - 4:21
    "The Greeting" - 7:56
    "Prelude to a Kiss" (Ellington, Gordon, Mills) - 4:35
    "Moment's Notice" (Coltrane) - 5:49
    "Hymn-Song" - 5:11
    "Consensus" - 9:34
    "Four by Five" - 5:30
    "Stella by Starlight" (Washington, Young) - 8:05
    "Lush Life" (Strayhorn) - 6:24
    "Blues for Ball" - 4:53

    All compositions by McCoy Tyner except as indicated

        Recorded at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA, April 9 & 10 (tracks 1-6), 11 & 12 (tracks 7-12), 1977.

Personnel

    McCoy Tyner: piano
    Ron Carter: bass (tracks 1-6)
    Tony Williams: drums (tracks 1-6)
    Eddie Gómez: bass (tracks 7-12)
    Jack DeJohnette: drums (tracks 7-12)