McCoy Tyner Trio Inception/Reaching Fourth (Impulse/Verve)
by Alex Henderson
Back in 1988, Impulse reissued two of pianist McCoy Tyner’s early albums, Inception and Nights of Ballads and Blues, on a single disc. This recent Impulse reissue, however, offers Inception and Reaching Fourth on a 67-minute CD, a logical combination as both are acoustic piano trio dates from 1962 (the former with bassist Art Davis and drummer Elvin Jones, the latter with bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Roy Haynes).
Tyner was only 23 at the time, but he was already a major name in the jazz world thanks to his contributions to John Coltrane’s trailblazing quartet. So it made perfect sense for Impulse to start recording the Philadelphia-born pianist as a leader. However, both albums lack the intensity and sense of adventure that characterized many of those recorded with Coltrane (or, for that matter, some of the great albums Tyner recorded as a leader for Milestone in the ‘70s).
But that isn’t to say that this reissue isn’t enjoyable. Tyner’s distinctive pianism is both lyrical and swinging and he is as recognizable on his own compositions as he is on tasteful performances of well-known standards like “Old Devil Moon”, “Speak Low”, “Have You Met Miss Jones” and “There Is No Greater Love”. Stylistically, there is very little difference between the two postbop albums, both of which were produced by Bob Thiele and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder so when the CD moves from Inception to Reaching Fourth, it is a very smooth transition.
This reissue’s greatest flaw has nothing to do with the music itself but rather the packaging; the original liner notes that Nat Hentoff wrote for Inception and those of Dan Morgenstern for Reaching Fourth are shrunk to a tiny type size that is difficult to read without a magnifying glass. A musician of Tyner’s caliber deserves better. Nonetheless, Tyner’s more devoted followers will appreciate this reissue, which paints an attractive, if conservative, picture of the influential pianist as he sounded in his youth.
For more information, visit vervemusicgroup.com/vault. Tyner is at Blue Note Jun. 12th-13th in duo with Savion Glover and 21st-24th with Charles Tolliver’s Big Band playing Coltrane’s Africa/Brass, both as part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival. See Calendar.
Inception
