Song For My Lady

Performer: McCoy Tyner
Artist: Sonny Fortune; Charles Tolliver; Michael White; Alphonse Mouzon
Engineer: Elvin Campbell
Producer: Orrin Keepnews
Distributor: Fantasy (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: McCoy Tyner (piano, percussion); Sonny Fortune (soprano & alto saxophones, flute); Charles Tolliver (flugelhorn); Michael White (violin); Calvin Hill (bass); Alphonse Mouzon (drums); Mtume (congas, percussion). Recorded at Mercury Sound Studios, New York, New York on September 6 & November 27, 1972. Originally released on Milestone (9044). Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (1987, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley California). Personnel: McCoy Tyner (piano, percussion); Michael White (violin); Sonny Fortune (flute, saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Charles Tolliver (flugelhorn); Alphonse Mouzon (drums); Mtume (congas, percussion). Recording information: Mercury Sound Studios, New York, NY (09/06/1972/11/27/1972). Unknown Contributor Roles: Alphonse Mouzon; Mtume; Calvin Hill; Charles Tolliver. The early '70s were an exciting recording period for this artist, whose initial forays outside the classic quartet of John Coltrane were just a bit too mellow, as if he was thinking, "Whew! Now I can relax." This was one of several for the Milestone label that burned energetically, although in terms of the pianist's overall career this concentrated thrust of stamina was simply a passing phase. He is captured here a few years before he settled into elder statesman status and began barely breaking a sweat on-stage. The emphasis here is often on pure power, the presence of a non-funky Alphonze Mouzon on drums something of a signature in band attitude. The nimble and fleet Calvin Hill is on bass, and Sonny Fortune is present on reeds during a stint of several years with Tyner. What really makes the album special is the enlarged ensemble that creates two of the album's most extended tracks. "Native Song" and "Essence" add flugelhorn, violin, and conga, and the fine-tuning skill of Tyner the arranger becomes present, turning the lineup of three lead instruments into something nearly symphonic. Violinist Michael White is more than a bit overpowered by Tyner, as one would expect, but it is the opposite case in terms of fireworks between brass player Charles Tolliver and the boss. Tolliver fronted a band named Music Inc. during this period who also played hard, heavy, and unrelenting jazz, pianist Stanley Cowell coming on strong with many Tyner-ish-influenced moves. It is a great meeting of the minds, as two players with sympathetic approaches toward the post-Coltrane jazz language engage in high-powered dialogue. The program is quite typical of some of Tyner's best albums for this label and Blue Note before that. All but one of the tracks are originals, featuring lovely melodies that either wash through a ballad mood or become anthems for rocket launchings, Mouzon splattering away on his cymbals like a happy child. The one standard, "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes," gets a liftoff worthy of Coltrane. This is quite a fine collection of tracks and one of Tyner's six best albums. ~ Eugene Chadbourne

It would be difficult to overstate McCoy Tyner's impact on the last three decades of jazz piano, first as a member of the classic Coltrane quartet in the 1960s, and later as a leader. His thundering bass tremolos, floating quartal harmonies, and blistering pentatonic runs have become part of the lingua franca of jazz piano. Tyner's recordings have skilfully blended elements of African and Asian music with the European classical tradition, but in 1997 he surprised the jazz world with a Burt Bacharach covers album. By 2000 he had returned to form with the aptly-titled JAZZ ROOTS.

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