Threesome

One of Three: McCoy Tyner

For McCoy Tyner, the trio is an instrument.

by Nate Chinen

Although McCoy Tyner’s recent output features the Philadelphia-reared pianist at the helm of a quartet, a Latin jazz ensemble, a big band and a full symphony orchestra, his basic currency is still the trio. Over a career as a leader that spans some 40 years, Tyner has worked more with acoustic piano, bass and drums than with any other combination. His brand-new release on Telarc, McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke and Al Foster, marks his first trio recording in seven years.

"There’s so much you can do with [a trio]," Tyner enthuses, speaking on the phone from his home in New York. "You can sound like a big band with it; you can have very subtle, quiet moments. The range of dynamics with a trio is amazing."

Dynamic range is in fact a hallmark of any McCoy Tyner Trio engagement. At the Newport Jazz Festival last August, Tyner and his longtime cohorts — bassist Avery Sharpe and drummer Aaron Scott — surged forward in waves of volume, each one more furious than the last, until it seemed that their crescendo could go no further. Then, suddenly, bass and drums would drop out; and there was Tyner, engaged in solo ruminations that shimmered like the surface of nearby Narragansett Bay.

Scott, whose rolling percussive style complements Tyner’s orchestral piano, refers to their trio as an "organic" whole: "There is such a feeling of freedom between the three of us that anyone can take the lead at any point, in the direction that the music is going. Obviously, McCoy is the leader. But he is so generous and so open that when those things happen, it’s not a problem for him."

Both Scott and Sharpe point out that Tyner affords them a lot of space within the group — a fact "of which I’m appreciative," Sharpe emphasizes, laughing. "Because sometimes in piano trios the piano player will just play the entire set, and you might get eight bars."

Onstage, Tyner engages his trio-mates in a dialogue that often shifts modes quickly and without warning. This is his way of ensuring a perpetual challenge; while the pianist appreciates the trio’s symbiotic rapport, he’s wary of stasis. "I’m very happy to play," he says, "as long as we don’t get so comfortable that we’re afraid to take chances. That’s the reason why I veer off and do other [projects]. I like the comfort zone, but I don’t want to get completely absorbed in it to the point where I lose interest in other things. Avery’s been with me about 17, 18 years, and that’s a long time. If I blink an eye, he knows what I mean."

Sharpe counters: "It’s never the same with McCoy. He’ll never play the same tune the same way. He never plays the introduction the same way. So I have to really listen; because sometimes he won’t even say what tune he’s playing." Even once a song begins, there’s potential for surprise. "[McCoy] might throw a vamp in there, he might modulate, he might do something. So you’ve got to watch him. And I’ve been playing with him so long that I can see on his face that he’s going to do something."

On his new disc, Tyner’s celebrated mercurial tendencies are for the most part hidden under a surface of tasteful refinement. The album’s opener, an original called "Trane-like," alludes to the John Coltrane Quartet by virtue of its harmonic progression, rather than its rhythmic foundation. The same could be said for "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes," which Tyner first recorded with Coltrane in 1960; here, it becomes a bright calypso.

"I was so immersed in the music when I was with John," Tyner recalls. "The influence was so great, and the roles we all played in that group; you couldn’t divorce yourself from it just because you weren’t physically there."

There are moments on the new album — a wistful ballad called "Memories," a groovy "Once Upon a Time" — that reflect Tyner’s past without a trace of nostalgia.

"I’m very proud of my background," he says. "But the thing is, I like to move on."

McToy Tyner Trio, Fri., Feb. 11, 8 p.m. Keswick Theatre, Easton Rd. & Keswick Ave., Glenside, $23.50, 215-572-7650 or www.keswicktheatre.com.