BST 84275

McCoy Tyner - Tender Moments

Released - September 1968

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, December 1, 1967
Lee Morgan, trumpet; Julian Priester, trombone #1-5; Bob Northern, French horn #1-5; Howard Johnson, tuba #1-5; James Spaulding, alto sax, flute #1-5; Bennie Maupin, tenor sax #1-5; McCoy Tyner, piano; Herbie Lewis, bass; Joe Chambers, drums.

1994 tk.3 Mode To John
1995 tk.9 The High Priest
1996 tk.12 Man From Tanganyika
1997 tk.18 Utopia
1998 tk.21 All My Yesterday
1999 tk.22 Lee Plus Three

Session Photos

Photos: Francis Wolff

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Mode to John	McCoy Tyner	December 1 1967
Man from Tanganyika	McCoy Tyner	December 1 1967
The High Priest	McCoy Tyner	December 1 1967
Side Two
Utopia	McCoy Tyner	December 1 1967
All My Yesterdays	McCoy Tyner	December 1 1967
Lee Plus Three	McCoy Tyner	December 1 1967

Liner Notes

No performer in any of the arts wants to move backward; few are content to stand still; most are eager to move ahead. In the case of McCoy Tyner, a musician who from the start of his career has been possessed with a keen insight into the possibilities of creative and technical advancement, it comes as no surprise to find that with this album he has taken a major step forward.

As the above credits make clear, this is McCoy's initial LP as leader of an orchestral group. The challenge of composing and scoring all the tunes for a nine-piece band was a demanding one.

"This marks my first endeavor in doing this much writing," he says. "I've been doing some reading about orchestration, and I felt that an album of this kind would represent an extension of my feeling in music beyond what I've accomplished with smaller combinations.

"The main task at the outset was to pick out the right horns, an instrumentation that would combine to produce the particular sounds I had in mind. I believe the personnel I selected gave me plenty to work with, and a good range all the way from flute down to tuba."

Tyner's decision to branch out into this area came about partly as a consequence of the opportunities to write during several months last year spent with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. "That job gave me a chance to delve into the writing thing a little more, in contrast with the work I'd been doing in smaller groups."

There have been many and varied experiences for McCoy since he left John Coltrane's quartet in December of 1965. His associations have ranged from Tony Scott, with whom he played at the Dome immediately after leaving Trane, to Sonny Rollins. ("That was a very intriguing experience - the first time I'd played with him since his Max Roach days.") Frequently he has freelanced as leader of a trio or occasionally a quintet.

All these jobs, no matter how short-lived, contributed to the sum total of his knowledge, for Tyner is a musician who responds sensitively to no matter what context and is forever on the trail of something to learn and incorporate into his own ethos.

The opening track, "Mode to John," is dedicated to the man with whom he spent six formative and inspiring years, starting when he was barely 2 1 . As one might expect, it is a modal piece, though McCoy does not care to define it. Instead of talking about Dorian modes and other technicalities, he observes, "I'm not that academic about these things; I just play what I hear. I would say this has a d minor feeling and is reminiscent of some of the things I used to do with John."

The main phrase is rhythmically stimulating, with Joe Chambers playing an important role in rounding out the ensemble statements. (I didn't know Joe when he was in Philly, but we met in New York and I soon found out that he has his own way of playing. He knows how to interpret music tastily, probably because he's also a pianist and composer himself, so he knows how to listen to what a writer wants in a performance.")

McCoy's solo is characteristically beguiling in its development and gentle in its beauty, fashioned out of wondrously smooth single-note lines and shimmering chords. Lee Morgan builds from a cautious lower register opening into a higher-ranged passage for which the horns back him. The intensity of the performance mounts through James Spaulding's alto and the penetrating tenor of Bennie Maupin before the reprise of the theme.

"Man from Tanganyika" was inspired by "a fellow I knew who came from there," McCoy says. "I tried to get close to an African sound and feeling here. I like the way Howard Johnson's sound comes through in the ensembles - I think he's going to be a big man on tuba and can help expand the role of this instrument."

The meter on "Man from Tanganyika" fluctuates between 6/8 and 4/4. McCoy's scintillating solo reaffirms the mood established in the opening ensembles. The Spaulding flute passage brings into focus the individuality that can be drawn from this instrument, on which most soloists in the early days of its jazz use tended to sound pretty much alike. Spaulding is particularly valuable in the statement of the theme during the ensembles.

Julian Priester, whose trombone, like Bob Northern's French horn, is employed mostly for its value as part of the group sound, steps out for a passage of his own that evokes the early J. J. Johnson influence. McCoy comments, "I've known Julian since I first came to New York, and always admired his sound and the fluency of his style."

"The High Priest" is, of course, McCoy's latest tribute to Thelonious Monk. Tyner once called Monk "truly an honorable contributor to music. - I have so much affection for him, and he was a tremendous influence on me." There was an earlier composition dedicated to him, "Monk's Blues," which McCoy introduced during a trio set at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1963. This new work, it seems to me, is more directly Monk-oriented in its melodic structure, its use of seconds and other unpredictable intervals, and its generally jagged, angular Monkishness. Try playing the 11-bar piano introduction and the first statement of the theme to an uninformed friend, and the chances are ten to one that he'll swear this is a Monk tune and a Monk group. But next, as soon as McCoy goes into his blowing passage, he becomes unmistakably himself again.

Highlights of this track are the strong, tenacious tenor of Bennie Maupin, the superb time and ideation in Lee Morgan's contribution, and the supple bass solo by Herbie Lewis just before McCoy jumps back into his Monk bag. Lewis, who hails from Pasadena, Cal., worked with Chico Hamilton and Les McCann before moving East. Tyner, with whom he works often, simply says: "He plays my music very well."

Of Bennie Maupin, he comments, "Bennie has been overdue for a break. He's been freelancing around New York for quite some time, and we've played some gigs together, but he landed a fine gig very recently when he joined Horace Silver's new quintet."

"Utopia," according to its composer, is a reflection, through its intensities and dynamics, of the ups and downs of our lives, with high points and moment of quiescence. This to me is an outstanding example of the Tyner talent as a writer, From the first pedal F on bass, through the flute trills to the dramatic entrance of the piano and the flute-led ensemble, everything moves with logic, and ultimately, a sense of urgency. Spaulding's sweeping, surging alto and Lee Morgan's melodically fervent statement are followed by a Maupin solo that sustains the mood in a simpler fashion. The piano solo and its background reminded me of an observation made by Tyner some years ago: "A rhythm section is a very sensitive thing; it is supposed both to support and inspire the soloist. When I play a solo, I may be inspired by what the preceding soloists have played, and also by the support the bassist and drummer are giving me."

Melodically the simplest, emotionally one of the most stirring of the original compositions in this set is "All My Yesterdays." "It's supposed to be a musical statement of some of my past experiences - a tender, emotional sort of melody," says McCoy. There is a classical beauty to the introduction and a stately majesty to the horns' delineation of the theme, which is fashioned around the second and third beats of each measure.

"All My Yesterdays" shows how full and rich an orchestral texture can be devised with only six horns when a writer of Tyner's ability applies himself to the task. Pianistically, too, this is a miniature masterpiece of grace and sensitivity.

"Lee Plus Three" is a maverick track, inasmuch as the orchestra is not employed. As the title implies, McCoy is heard simply with Lee Morgan, Herbie Lewis, and Joe Chambers.

"This has a sort of nostalgia for me," says McCoy. "Lee and I grew up together in Philadelphia, and played some of our first jobs together - fraternity dances and around town. I think one of the very first jobs ever played was in Atlantic City with a quartet, and Lee was the leader. We were both about 1 8. Lee developed into a truly great musician, and playing with him like this - just a 3/4 blues - took me back to the old days, more than ten years ago, when we were both just starting out."

McCoy's long opening foray, with its extensive use of eighth notes in the right hand and intelligently sustained chord in the left, paves the way for a typical performance by Lee, with its unmistakable Morgan triplets, the always personal sound, and the funky feeling suffusing the entire solo. McCoy then takes over until the concluding fade.

Reflecting on the results of his first orchestral album, McCoy told me he was convinced that there was a pen in his future. "I want to learn more and more about the use and placing of the instrumental voices. Each note becomes very important in a group of this kind, but I think I showed you can get a big, full sound with six horns."

In piloting this compatible group of musicians, McCoy clearly knew where he was headed. Evidently his passengers, eager to help him reach his destination with the least possible turbulence, were as responsive to his leadership as he was to their cooperation.

I will await with optimistic expectations, further dual evidence of this fast-maturing artist's talents as player and composer-arranger. As he modestly put it, he is trying to develop; but as I remarked at the outset, development can always be expected from an artist with the dedication and sincerity of Alfred McCoy Tyner.

- Leonard Feather

RVG CD Reissue Liner Notes

A NEW LOOK AT TENDER MOMENTS

McCoy Tyner's second Blue Note album was a particularly important harbinger of directions he would pursue in the future. None of the six pieces it contains became signature compositions (as was the case with "Passion Dance," "Search for Peace," and "Blues on the Corner" from the pianist's previous collection, The Real McCoy), and the band employed here did not become a working unit. Yet by providing Tyner with his first opportunity to write for more than a sextet, Tender Moments revealed his ability to translate a personal small-band approach onto larger canvases that would serve Tyner well as he incorporated complements of brasses and woodwinds, strings, voices, and Afro-Latin instrumentations in various projects over the ensuing decades.

This was an important step, if only for taking Tyner beyond the combo settings that had defined his music in the past. During his years as John Coltrane's pianist, the Impulse! label had attempted to make Tyner its trio pianist, confining him to bass and drum accompaniment exclusively on four of his six albums and giving large portions of the remaining two over to trio tracks. The Real McCoy, which allowed for greater self-definition with its program of original compositions and quartet format, still did not reveal Tyner's orchestral capabilities. At a time when Tyner was scuffling for work and testing his resolve to remain a working musician, the opportunity to expand the sonic canvas with a group that included six horns was a rare gift — not to mention a confirmation of Tyner's already-influential approach.

With trombone, French horn, and tuba functioning primarily in an orchestral role, and with James Spaulding alternating between alto sax and flute, the band presented a sound that was both uniquely Tyner and consistent with the forceful, African-tinged approach heard in his previous efforts. Take away Spaulding's flute, however, and substitute a baritone sax for Benny Maupin's tenor, and the instrumentation would match that of Miles Davis's legendary Birth of the Cool nonet of nearly two decades earlier, although in this instance (especially in the scoring of "All My Yesterdays") the connection runs more directly to the music Davis and Gil Evans had created circa 1960. It is a telling coincidence that Tyner's only rival as an influence among pianists of his generation, Herbie Hancock, was also showing the signs of listening to Gil Evans on Speak Like a Child, recorded three months later, although Hancock leaned toward the more delicate side of Evans's writing.

The instrumentation here did not lead Tyner to a conservative approach. On the contrary, he employed tempo changes ("Man from Tanganyika"), structural quirks (the short chorus on "The High Priest"), and surprising modulations ("Mode to John") liberally, and scored the resulting themes in bold voicings. The ensemble contains only one true star in Lee Morgan, but was rounded out with both reliable players who made their reputations contributing to a variety of Blue Note dates (Spaulding, Chambers) and a couple of important new voices. Howard Johnson was already beginning to establish his low-end skills on both tuba and baritone sax, though to this point he had rarely been placed in a setting where his contributions were as audible or as essential. Bennie Maupin was also in the process of launching his career, and to this point had been heard on record primarily with Marion Brown and Freddie Hubbard. His talents would soon blossom in the company of two other members of the nonet — Morgan, who would employ Maupin between 1968 and 1970, and trombonist Julian Priester, with whom Maupin would spend the following two years in Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band.

Given the muscular, aggressive nature of Tyner's music, the title of this album may seem something of a misnomer. The second half of the program does have its tender strains, though, even on "Utopia" before the theme turns fierce, and the closing themeless blues is the tenderest moment of all. Lee Morgan was not only a Philadelphia contemporary, born five months before Tyner, but also a frequent collaborator on various Blue Note sessions. This was their final recorded meeting, and the only one on which Tyner was the leader.

The five compositions for the nonet, while uniformly attractive, have rarely been heard in subsequent performances. Tyner did revisit "The High Priest" on his 1991 big band album The Turning Point, in an arrangement by Howard Johnson, and organist John Patton covered "Man from Tanganyika" in 1969 with a two-tenor quartet (the track is a bonus on the CD reissue of Patton's Memphis to New York Spirit). More recently, one of today's most celebrated jazz pianist/composers, Donald Brown, included trio versions of both "Utopia" and "All My Yesterdays" on his 1999 collection French Kiss.

— Bob Blumenthal, 2003