McCoy Tyner Trio feat. Bill Frisell & Gary Bartz - International Music ...

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Jazz | JazzTimes Magazine > Reviews > Concert Reviewshttp://www.jazztimes.com/reviews/concert_reviews/detail.cfm?article=10291Page 1 of 312/17/2004Subscribe now | Site MapColumns & Features | Jazz Guides | Reviews | Shopping | TravelYour location: JazzTimes.com > Reviews > Concert ReviewsConcert ReviewsLatest ReviewsArchivesDec 12Nov 20Nov 20Nov 12Nov 6Nov 4Oct 30Oct 29Oct 22Oct 21Tyner, Clarke &Cobham at the BlueNoteBallard JazzFestivalBoney James andNorman BrownOrnette Colemanin Los AngelesUniversity ofPittsburgh JazzConcertPaula WestSwings theAlgonquinThe RevolutionContinuesPascoal &Baptista RouseJ@LC"Speaking ofJazz," J@LC'sAllen RoomGrand OpeningDizzy’s ClubCoca-Cola GrandOpeningTyner, Clarke & Cobham at the Blue NoteArtist(s): McCoy Tyner, Stanley Clarke & Billy CobhamVenue/ Blue NoteLocation: New York, New York USADate: December 12, 2004Written By: Ashley KahnWhat would they play? Would theyplug in? In my mind the notion ofthe tight, sold-out quarters of theBlue Note turning into a pressurecooker of fusion-era amplificationhad me enthralled -- and scared. Butwhen I spied an acoustic bass beingheld aloft and maneuvered towardthe stage by a young man wholooked curiously like a teenagedStanley Clarke (turns out it was his son), I put the earplugsaway and got ready.I mean, come on! McCoy Tyner and Billy Cobham and astand-up bass playing Stanley Clarke? When I first saw thegig mentioned in the Blue Note’s ad, it didn’t read like ausual weeklong residency in New York City. It read morelike a one-time festival concert. It read like something thatwould meet for the first time on Tuesday and develop overthe week -- that I should make the Sunday show if Iwanted to catch them full throttle. And it also read likehistory. Cobham had not played with Tyner -- on stage orin studio -- since the pianist’s 1976 soloists-and-stringsalbum Fly With the Wind. Clarke, normally ensconced inLos Angeles doing session work for soundtracks, wasinspired by his week in Manhattan to consider spendingmore time in New York City to get back into the giggingscene.printe-ma
Jazz | JazzTimes Magazine > Reviews > Concert Reviewshttp://www.jazztimes.com/reviews/concert_reviews/detail.cfm?article=10291Page 2 of 312/17/2004When the three virtuosi stepped on stage they weregreeted with thunderous applause; they wasted no timelaunching into displays of prowess for which each islegendary, though the performance was more dialog-drivenand interactive than showy.Tyner’s modal workout “Trane-Like” (from the Telarc albumhe did in 2000 with Clarke and Al Foster) was the first tuneoffered, played at a brisk tempo with ample room for solos-- allowing all to warm up, flex fingers and get in sync witheach other. Tyner’s crisp, single-note lines spun andspiraled, and Cobham’s melodic use of the entire drum kitwas a marvel of intuitive orchestration. But it was Clarke’srichly textured approach that caught most of the audienceunaware. From the first tune on, he attacked each solowith gusto and delight: hopping between funky, legatoplaying and his patented blurred-fingers technique at thetop of the fretboard with an almost electric-bass tone.It was obvious Tyner -- who struggled with the club’s pianoand wasn’t happy about it -- was calling the shots: “ComeRain or Come Shine” was the pianist’s choice for anevocative ballad. Bass and drums had an Afro-Caribbeandialogue next -- Clarke setting up a rhythm, Cobhamproviding a second rhythmic layer with shaker/mallets onthe toms -- which developed into the Latin-flavored“Angelina” (off Illuminations, another recent Tyner title)that featured flamenco-flavored strumming from Clarke.Especially on that number, the use and masterful control ofdynamics by all was astounding (and made sure theearplugs remained pocketed.)The hard-boppish “Steppin’” was kicked off by a Cobhamexplosion on cymbals and toms, and then it was Tyner’sturn to shine again, creating an improvisation thatsurprised with hints of stride devices and teases of Tatumlikeruns. Cobham’s four-stick solo -- two in each hand at90-degree angles -- brought the tune to a close.Ads byClarkDiscousedSearcbolanwww.eJazzSherSheraHoteJazz,Spa,www.sFreeDow12 BiNo D100%FavoiMusicLiveMusiJazzoccasWeddrecepFloridwww.sTyner calls the blues the “real national anthem,” and everytime I’ve caught him recently he closes with one. Clarketook full advantage of the form, improvising -- evenbending the strings -- as if he was working a club onChicago’s south side.Suddenly it was over. No encore, lights up, another showto seat. The air of expectation helped make the 55-minuteset seem like five.All later said they were ecstatic about how their music andinterplay had developed over the week, and they arelooking forward to the week they’ll spend together atYoshi’s in Oakland in January. Might this trio record
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McCoy Tyner Trio feat. Bill Frisell & Gary Bartz - International Music ...

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