Jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, who has been called the most influential jazz pianist in the last 40 years, will bring his innovative style to Spaulding Auditorium tonight at 8 p.m. as part of the McCoy Tyner Trio.
The trio of Tyner, bassist Avery Sharpe and percussionist Aaron Scott will be joined by the adaptive Chicago multi-reedman Chico Freeman in a gathering of some of the most accomplished jazz musicians around.
In his more than 30-year musical career, the Grammy-winning Tyner has played with jazz all-stars that include John Coltrane, Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter.
He has released nearly 50 albums, primarily on the venerated Blue Note and Impulse labels, and has played accompaniment on hundreds more.
Even so, his work does not discriminate against jazz newcomers. Billboard Magazine has called his music "highly palatable, unpretentious jazz" and "invariably listenable."
Tyner, who was born in Philadelphia, first recorded with the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet, but gained his greatest prominence when he joined the great tenor saxophonist Coltrane in the late 1950s as a member of the John Coltrane Quartet.
By his early 20s, Tyner was making musical history.
As a part of the John Coltrane Quartet, he accompanied Coltrane on such legendary albums as "My Favorite Things" (1960 ), "Impressions" (1961) and "Love Supreme" (1964).
In his six-year tenure with the Coltrane Quartet, which also included bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones, the group released over 40 records.
Coltrane said of Tyner, "McCoy has an exceptionally well-developed sense of form, both as a soloist and accompanist ... He also gets a very personal sound from his instrument; and because of the clusters he uses and the way he voices them, that sound is brighter than what would normally be expected from most of the chord patterns he plays."
According to Don Glasgo, director of the Barbary Coast jazz ensemble and adjunct assistant professor of music, Tyner "changed music and changed jazz history" with his revolutionary style as a member of the Coltrane Quartet. "He really went in another direction based on what Coltrane was doing."
In that environment, Tyner adopted a very strong rhythmic style that included heavy, open chords in the left hand. He is often credited with a strong influence on the post-bop style of jazz made most popular by Wynton Marsalis.
Tyner's creative luminescence can in part be credited to jazz forefathers Bud Powell, Thelonius Monk and Art Tatum, all of whom Tyner claims as influences.
Tyner started playing piano professionally at age 15, after having first studied piano at the Philadelphia Music Center at age 13.
Tonight's show was scheduled after veteran tenor-saxophonist Joe Henderson canceled his Spaulding date due to illness.
Hopkins Center Publicity Manager Georgia Croft said, "We're delighted to have someone of the stature of McCoy Tyner to replace him." The show will likely include a combination of jazz standards and Tyner and Freeman originals, said Croft.
Freeman, son of jazz great Von Freeman, is known for his innovative, experimental style and virtuosity with a range of jazz methods.
Over his career, his work has ranged from the Coltrane-style hard bop jazz to free avante-garde. He has earned praise as a composer, producer and musician.
Originally a trumpet player, Freemen picked up the saxophone as a junior at Northwestern University in Illinois.
He went on to distinguish himself as a reedman and has recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus and the Marsalis brothers, among others. In a recent article, Stereo Magazine called Freeman "the most important horn since John Coltrane."
Indeed, tonight's performance will be a special gathering of some of the jazz world's greatest musicians.
