Track Listing

1. African Village
2. Little Madimba
3. May Street
4. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
5. The Surrey With The Fringe On Top
6. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #156649 in Music
• Released on: 2005-08-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Album Description
Bobby Hutcherson joins McCoy Tyner's trio for this rich, fluid 1968 album of originals and standards. The fact that Hutcherson and Tyner still often tour together 37 years later speaks volumes for the extraordinary empathy they share.

McCOY TYNER: piano
BOBBY HUTCHERSON: vibes
HERBIE LEWIS: bass
FREDDIE WAITS: drums

Customer Reviews

Finally "Time for Tyner"
The latest batch of Blue Note/EMI RVG reissues (8/2/05) feature some terrific albums, many of which until now have been out-of-print on CD for a good while. In fact, two of the titles, Bobby Hutcherson's "Oblique" (see my review) and this title, McCoy Tyner's "Time for Tyner," have been unavailable (aside from a brief resurfacing in the old Collector's Choice reprint program) for nearly 15 years! Well I must say it is great that the EMI execs finally had time for Tyner. This May 17, 1968 session features McCoy on piano and Hutcherson on vibes, with Herbie Lewis on bass, and Freddie Waits on drums. The best thing about this disc is its unbelievable chemistry -- Lewis and Waits joined Tyner to form a formidable rhythm trio, appearing together again on McCoy's next Blue Note album "Expansions." But this recording was also the genesis of a partnership between Tyner and Hutch that would be revisited many times in the following decades, on albums led by both artists. The first three tracks, penned by McCoy, are wonderful and show a mature writing talent fusing musical elements of other cultures, particularly African rhythms, into his jazz. The letdown is the three show tunes on the old B-side. The first of those three, "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," is also performed by the entire quartet, but the remaining two unfortunately feature just a piano trio and solo piano respectively. They are well-played, but recall his Impulse trio days when the label wanted some sellable material, when in my opinion just keeping the quartet going with Hutch for two more numbers would have been the best sale of all. Despite this, "Time for Tyner" is one of those rare Blue Note gems that I have enjoyed for years, and now with this reissue you can too.

My son's namesake for good reason!
McCoy Tyner, along with John Coltrane and the rest of THE quartet, have meant so much to me musically over the years, that I blessed my son with McCoy as a middle name. Being my favorite pianist, his music has provided me with endless enjoyment ever since I became a "real" jazz fan. This album, "Time For Tyner" is exactly what I'm referring to. I have always been impressed with McCoy's skill as a composer, honed more than likely during his time spent with Trane. I've noticed that he always pulls the best out of his personnel, regardless of the set up. A great quartet setting here with no horns is the perfect backdrop for McCoy's wizardry. The originals he penned for this album are amazing, all killer and no filler. Vibist Bobby Hutcherson complements McCoy perfectly, while Freddie Waits and Herbie Lewis on drums and bass respectively swing as well. The opening original track "African Village" is utterly amazing. Pay close attention to the synergy of this lineup. Incredible! A mandatory addition to the Tyner catalog, "Time" is as good a RVG reissue as there is out there!

No more puns using the word 'time'...unless you mean rhythm...
One thing that McCoy Tyner will never be accused of is being rhythmically challenged. This 6 song CD presents two classics of jazz rhythm study, 'Little Madimba' and 'African Village'. Of course, you would expect a musician of Tyner's caliber to be able to carry such unusual and uncommon rhythmic patterns through an entire song, but the effect is nonetheless stunning. To avoid making an entirely "ethnic" record, he pulls back on the other four tracks to more familiar standards and arrangements, but his rhythmic work even in those songs still demands attention, especially in 'Surrey...' where he uses trills and slides to great effect in carrying the tune. Bobby Hutcherson is wonderful on the vibraphone, adding a tonality and timbre to compliment Tyner's use of the full register of the piano, especially juxtaposing the low register with the high tones of the vibes. Very cool. Tyner also was considerate enough to give the band off on one of the tracks, treating us to a solo piano on 'I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face'. Tyner is one of those artists who, the more you listen to, the more you start to develop your own artistic sensibilities along with them, and TFT is a CD where he runs basically the entire course in 42 minutes. That's why I've become a big fan of Tyner over the last two years. And even though as a fellow jazz pianist, Tyner frustrates me in that I'll only ever be able to aspire to his level of skill, I can always put on this CD and dream. Even if you aren't a jazz pianist, this CD will amaze and satisfy even the most jaded of jazz listeners. I highly recommend this to all jazz fans and music collectors.