McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy (1967)

BLUE NOTE 25 "BEST" ALBUMS MONTH* (JULY 2026)

Dutch import

A keeper. The Real McCoy is the album most often identified as Tyner's definitive recording. It marked his Blue Note debut after leaving the John Coltrane Quartet and presented his first album consisting entirely of original compositions. McCoy's utilizes the piano as a percussion instrument (it is, strictly speaking) which somehow provides a clarity other pianists lack. As for the backing band, everybody shines. My particular mix has Carter too far back and Jones too far forward, so I have to play around with my levels to get a good balance. Ah well, this album is one of those recommended almost universally and reissued with remarkable regularity. It shouldn't be terribly difficult to find a better mix.

More hype, direct from the Blue Note website:

The peak statement of Tyner’s solo career, The Real McCoy is also one of a handful of recordings that define post-bop. Lots of records from this genre have interesting tunes and blazing solo performances, but few attain such an interconnected synergy. Listening to these these rich, beautifully realized atmospheres, and how they inspire deep, passionate, strikingly collective improvisations, you realize how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go in our quest for peace.

Tyner - piano
Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone
Ron Carter - bass
Elvin Jones - drums

Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff.

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "Tyner displays melodic inventiveness and clarity of ideas, and the LP should find fast favor with jazz aficianados [sic]."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★: "A key album in Tyner's discography. Very highly recommended."
• Billboard: ★★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★★

In addition to being named as one of Blue Note's 25 Best Albums, The Real McCoy placed at #17 on the udiscover.com list of the 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums and listed in the The New York Times Essential Jazz Library: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings (2002), where it was written The Real McCoy "perfectly represents the mainstream of small-group jazz for the mid-sixties at least to the mid-nineties."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: the album opener, Passion Dance, is a classic, but my favorite cuts slow it down a bit: Contemplation and Search For Peace.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Things Ain't What They Used To Be (1990)
Dimensions (1984)

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*In 1987, the European offices of Blue Note records compiled a list of the 25 Best Blue Note Albums in an effort to promote sales of classic Blue Note albums released on CD for the first time. Albums selected for the list were originally released in the years 1953-1967.

At the time, the Blue Note label had been subsumed by the EMI group. This allowed the selections to be made from other EMI labels, namely Capitol, United Artists, and Liberty. Therefore, the list-makers were able to look outside the Blue Note label and squeeze in titles by artists such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker, & Count Basie. It reads more like "albums we had the rights to, by 25 well-known jazz artists," making the list as much about artists as albums. As a marketing tool, it makes sense. As a starting place to build a Blue Note collection you could do worse. Of course, you could also do much better. But the thing exists, it caught my attention, and here we are.

McCoy Tyner - Dimensions (1984)

ELEKTRA/MUSICIAN MONTH (FEBRUARY 2023)

NEA Jazz Master McCoy Tyner released over 70 albums during his career, but this 1984 effort was the only one to appear on the E/M label. What is notable about Tyner is the fact that, while many keyboardists had abandoned the piano in the '80s in favor of the synthesizer, Tyner stayed true to his pianistic roots. Other than that, as noted in the reviews below, the music on this album is "comfortably familiar." And if you like Tyner's percussive approach to playing the piano rooted in hard bop origins, that is good news, indeed.

Caveat emptor! Unfortunately, the transfer to CD is not good. I'm guessing the master tape had stretched and by the time this version was pressed in 2005, maybe the technology to correct such things with a click of a mouse wasn't yet available? Whatever the reason, the final two tracks are unlistenable because the stretching leads to sliding variable pitch changes. Sadly, in a rush to collect all 56 Elektra/Musician releases, this emptor did not caveat. I suppose I'll keep an eye out for an original 1984 vinyl pressing.

Tyner - piano
Gary Bartz - alto saxophone
John Blake - violin
John Lee - bass
Wilby Fletcher - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "a return to form"
• Downbeat (★★★½): "unpretentious and accessible; with a mix of new tunes and standards "
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

E/M releases, March 1984

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #43
• CashBox Jazz: #18
• Radio & Records Jazz Airplay: #4

Tracks: Tyner briefly describes each track in the CD's liner notes. There's good band chemistry in the quintet throughout. Top tracks are a tasty solo piano take on Ellington's Prelude To A Kiss, the Latin-flavored Precious One and the straight ahead Just In Time. It's a shame the final tracks are "warped" as track 5, Understanding, would probably be my favorite on the album.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Things Ain't What They Used To Be (1990)

McCoy Tyner - Things Ain't What They Used To Be (1990)

A relaxing album of (mostly) standards on (mostly) solo piano. John Scofield plays guitar on tracks 3, 4, and 6 while George Adams adds tenor sax to the final two tracks. Released on the Blue Note label; recorded at Merkin Hall, NYC, November 2, 1989 (solos), and November 27, 1989 (duets). A perfect album with a cup of coffee on a cool, spring Sunday morning. It's almost like having Tyner playing piano in your living room.

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "Tyner's finest album in years, perhaps his best ever."
• Billboard: "Tyner's 88-key artistry has never been more poignant or swinging"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★½
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #9

Tracks:

1. The Greeting - 2:26
2. Naima (John Coltrane) - 3:42
3. I Mean You (Coleman Hawkins & Thelonious Monk) - 4:57
4. Here's That Rainy Day (Johnny Burke & Jimmy Van Heusen) - 6:02
5. Things Ain't What They Used to Be (Mercer Ellington & Ted Persons) - 3:52
6. Joy Spring (Clifford Brown) - 4:21
7. Lush Life (Billy Strayhorn) - 5:34
8. Song for My Lady - 6:28
9. Sweet and Lovely (Gus Arnheim, Jules LeMare & Harry Tobias) - 3:56
10. What's New? (Johnny Burke & Bob Haggart) - 3:53
11. Search For Peace - 6:09
12. Blues On The Corner - 6:25
13. My One And Only Love (Robert Mellin & Guy Wood) - 8:00

I prefer the solo piano stuff, but of the duets, give me Joy Spring and My One And Only Love.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. A relatively recent pickup from the used bins at Hogwild Records.