In Memoriam: McCoy Tyner (1938-2020)

Photo by Dino Perrucci



Legendary jazz pianist McCoy Tyner has passed away. The news was confirmed by Tyner’s official Instagram account. Tyner was 81 years old.

“It is with heavy heard that we announce the passing of jazz legend, Alfred ‘McCoy’ Tyner,” the statement read. “McCoy was an inspired muscian who devoted his life to his art, his family and his spirituality. [His] music and legacy will continue to inspire fans and future talent for generations to come.”

Born in Philadelphia in 1938, Tyner began playing the piano at age 13, urged to do so by his mother. At age 22, he joined the Jazztet, a sexted led by saxophonist Benny Golson and trumpeter Art Farmer. Just a few months later, Tyner joined the musical project for which he was most well-known: John Coltrane’s quartet.

The band, made up of Tyner, Coltrane, drummer Elvis Jones and bassist Jimmy Garrison, released some of the most legendary jazz albums of all time, including My Favorite Things (1961), Live! at the Village Vanguard (1962) and of course, A Love Supreme (1965).

“We functioned like one person,” Tyner said in a 2001 interview on recording A Love Supreme. “It wasn’t like we were four guys on stage doing his own particular kind of thing. In other words, it had to be in relationship to the total. To me, it’s a wonderful way to not only think, but behave. I think to create civility in life and society itself, to think of yourself in relationship to other people. What you do, may effect someone else. We have to be conscious of that, that we don’t function by ourselves. When you get in a situation where everyone is thinking democratically, thinking in terms of what is played and how it effects you and how your response to it effects those around you.”

After he parted ways with Coltrane in 1965, Tyner began an illustrious career as a bandleader in his own right. He released a series of albums with Blue Note Records, including The Real McCoy (1967), Expansions (1968) and Extensions (1970). He later signed with Milestone, on which he released albums such as Sahara (1972) and Fly With The Wind (1976). In the 1980s, he would return to Blue Note, releasing solo records Revelations (1988) and Soliloquy (1991).

In 2002, Tyner was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, one of the United States’ highest honors for a jazz musician.

McCoy Tyner is undoubtedly one of the most influential jazz pianists of all time. His legacy will live on in the many piano players he has impacted.