Product Description

''I've never done anything like this before'' McCoy Tyner recently said of his second album on McCoy Tyner Music/Half Note Records, a CD/DVD titled GUITARS. Along with a trio of Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette, Tyner invited guitarists Bill Frisell, Derek Trucks, John Scofield, Marc Ribot, and banjoist Bela Fleck for the studio recording and DVD shoot, scheduled for a September 23 release. ''It was great, and each guy had his own concept and own sound which is very, very important on any instrument, '' said Tyner, ''You know, I look for that, the individual sound and concept. ''

Legendary producer John Snyder oversaw the project along with executive producers Jeff Levenson, VP of McCoy Tyner Muisc/Half Note Records, and Steve Bensusan, President of the Blue Note Jazz Club. Said Levenson, ''What impressed me about the project was how seamless the integration was. We have guys with disparate styles. You have guys who approach their instruments differently. The beauty of this project is how they all found common ground with McCoy. ''

The CD is accompanied by a state of the art DVD featuring songs with each special guest guitarist and bonus footage. The DVD has 3 hours of multiple-angle viewing capability. By clicking the ANGLE button on the remote or the player on a computer, one can watch the Editor s Cut on Angle 1, all four musicians at once with Angle 2 (4 quadrants), or isolate any of the musicians and watch them exclusively with Angles 3 through 6.

Tyner, who will turn 70 on December 11, is looking forward to the week-long celebration at the Blue Note in Manhattan that ends on his birthday. When asked about his recording future, Tyner thought for a time and spoke candidly. ''I think there is always something to do that you haven't done exactly. There's always that the idea of what else can I do, and something always comes up. No two days are the same. So we look forward to tomorrow cause that's going to be different from yesterday and today. Hopefully it's a good one! ''

Track Listing

1. Improvisation 2 (with Marc Ribot)
2. Passion Dance (with Marc Ribot)
3. 500 Miles (with Marc Ribot)
4. Mr. P.C. (with John Scofield)
5. Blues On The Corner (with John Scofield)
6. Improvisation 1 (with Marc Ribot)
7. Trade Winds (with Bela Fleck)
8. Amberjack (with Bela Fleck)
9. My Favorite Things (with Bela Fleck)
10. Slapback Blues (with Derek Trucks)
11. Greensleeves (with Derek Trucks)
12. Contemplation (with Bill Frisell)
13. Boubacar (with Bill Frisell)
14. Baba Drame (with Bill Frisell)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32927 in Music
• Released on: 2008-09-23
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .30 pounds

Customer Reviews

McCoy and guests, just what you'd expect
I had no idea this was coming out until I saw it by chance in a store today and can now happily report that it is another excellent outing by the longstanding jazz master, McCoy Tyner in the middle of a phenomenal jazz trio with a number of distinguished guests. The trio consists of McCoy with Ron Carter on bass and Jack Dejohnette on drums. The guests are all either guitarists or in the case of Bela Fleck, a banjo player. The result is a varied, always interesting takes on a number of songs, including some Tyner standards, some classic Coltrane songs and a few of the guests' compositions for good measure.

The trio at the standard is exactly what you would expect, namely, superb. The skills of Tyner, Carter and Dejohnette have already in numerous places been praised, so I see no need to say anything other than that they live up to there reputations here. Especially Dejohnette, a personal favorite of mine, who constantly amazes with his sense of time, accent and space within the band. Only one person could have possibly done it better than him, in my opinion, and that would have been Elvin Jones. In the end, he and Ron Carter provide a very solid core over which McCoy and guests experiment. McCoy himself is continuing to go strong as he has in the past.

The guests, obviously, make this recording interesting, and there is a lot in there contributions. There are five of them (Marc Ribot, John Scofield, Bela Fleck, Derek Trucks and Bill Frisell) and each has a very distinctive style and repertoire. The result is that the album is varied, not so varied as to lack cohesion, but varied enough to remain interesting throughout. Their very specifics sorts of tones add a lot to the mix of the album. Trucks, for instance is very blues driven, while Scofield has a wider, more mellow tone. A personal favorite for me is Bela Fleck. Anyone familiar with his album with Chick Corea, 'The Enchantment', will know how versatile and talented he is. Here he plays three songs, two of his originals and 'My Favorite Things'. His compositions are probably the most interesting on the album, distinctive from the more standard sounding sorts of songs (like the Coltrane blues 'Mr PC') and they offer McCoy a different sort of space to some into musically. That being said, Bela also fits right in on 'My Favorite things' demonstrating some very healthy, sometimes Trane-like complicated licks. John Scofield is my next favorite. He really tears it up 'Mr PC', so much so, that McCoy remarks afterwards that the guitar had to have caught on fire.

Which brings me to my last point, and a great surprise for me, the Bonus DVD. The quote from Tyner cannot be found on the album itself, but on the DVD, which contains studio video of some of the songs from the album. For each song, there is a section while they warm up and discuss the way they will play the song, and then there is the song itself, followed by a brief period of conversation. The song is obviously the most interesting part, as you get to see the musicians actually performing. The best part of this arrangement, are the multiple camera angles. They had four cameras in the studio, one on each musician and there are six different viewing options. The first one is pre-edited and switches from musician to musician. The second one shows all angles simultaneously and the last four show just one specific musician (like Jack Dejohnette, all the way through the song). This was a very interesting feature, Which I had a lot of fun with, being able to watch the musicians work is incredibly impressive, to say the least.

All in All, this was a solid production. I do not think that it is the next 'A Love Supreme', but certainly worth looking into for fans of any of the musicians involved. You will not be disappointed.

get over it
It seems to me that the bad reviews of this album come from people with narrow tastes in music. I think it is a great and inspiring record - it pushes the boundaries of what incredibly talented people can achieve.

I appreciate lots of different musics, and this showcases quite a few. I'm mainly into jazz these days, but I think the reviews that diss Ribot, Fleck and Trucks just don't get it. This is brave music that pushes the envelope - very successfully and enjoyably. I love the sheer musicality of it.

The DVD is revelatory - it sets the scene (if you want hollywood gloss, it ain't here, so go check out something more homogenised) these guys FEEL the music - they play with their hearts and fingers - there is not much thinking involved. I'd never heard of Derek Trucks before, but I searched out a copy of his 'songlines' straight after I heard this (not very jazz but very good). And I like quite a bit of Frisell's, Ribot's, and Scofield's stuff too.

This one is a winner
You never know what you're going to get when a jazz artist brings in a series of high-profile guest artists. Some of those discs are messes, but some win you over. This one is a winner. McCoy Tyner's resume is very extensive, but he hasn't done much with guitarists. Along with an ace rhythm section of Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette, McCoy teams up with five guitarists. The five guitarists are Marc Ribot, John Scofield, Béla Fleck, Derek Trucks, and Bill Frisell. The only 'safe' choice on that list is John Scofield. The rest are most daring than I'd expect McCoy to play with - Béla Fleck is a banjo player, not even a guitarist! You also can't call it a meeting of the old guard with the young guns, since Ribot, Scofield, Fleck, and Frisell are all in their 50's. Though Trucks is in his 20's, he's a rock/blues guitarist, so he isn't a jazz young gun.

Marc Ribot starts things off with a fast and fun "Passion Dance", then a bluesier "500 Miles". Ribot and Tyner also have two improvised duets which aren't quite as good as the quartet songs. "Mr. P. C." sounds exactly like John Scofield from the first notes. Similar to "Passion Dance", it's a very good up-tempo jam. "Blues On The Corner" has a more structured melody, and Scofield again is in fine form. Béla Fleck's three songs aren't bad, and he's certainly brave to take on "My Favorite Things". Banjo is inherently a less expressive instrument than the guitar. Derek Trucks has a blues and "Greensleeves". Since Coltrane's version of "Greensleeves" isn't as classic as "My Favorite Things", it's not too risky a choice. Trucks is pretty good - he plays expressively and a tad simpler than the full-time jazz guys. Bill Frisell plays on "Contemplation", a McCoy Tyner song, then "Boubacar" and "Baba Drame" which were on Frisell's "The Intercontinentals". "Contemplation" is fine, then "Boubacar" and "Baba Drame" are hypnotic. There was no piano on "The Intercontinentals", but Tyner's chiming piano meshes with Frisell's Telecaster very well. There's a lot of focus on the guitarists, but Tyner's piano is strong, and Carter and DeJohnette are naturally excellent.

This CD comes together very well, and it's one of the better jazz CD's of 2008. The CD also has a bonus DVD, with one song by each of the guests. The DVD is neat because you can show each player individually, or all players at the same time. Somehow I find it easier to catch the subtleties of jazz drumming when I can see the drummer. This CD should appeal to just about anyone, and is recommended.