McCoy Tyner recorded five albums for
Telarc, beginning with 1999's
McCoy Tyner & the Latin All-Stars and ending with 2004's
Illuminations. While no one would ever argue that these were the high points of a career that reaches back half-a-century and includes a legendary stint with
John Coltrane, the
Telarc recordings were all solid affairs and
Tyner's genius was still quite evident throughout.
Afro Blue is an eight-song compendium that draws material from all five of those releases, providing a neat summation of
Tyner's output for the label. Never one to rest on his laurels,
Tyner continued to push forward at a time in his life when he could easily have coasted. The 12-and-a-half-minute title track, from the Latin set, sports an easy groove within which tidy but inventive solos from pianist
Tyner and flutist
Dave Valentin are propelled by an insistent battery of percussion.
"If I Were a Bell," the
Frank Loesser standard, is a showcase for the always intoxicating vibes of
Bobby Hutcherson, and the rhythm section of
Stanley Clarke on bass and
Al Foster on drums kicks
"The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" into high gear and keeps it there.
George Gershwin's
"Summertime," a song so overdone it never needs to be done again, nonetheless finds new life in
Tyner's solo reading.
Afro Blue is hardly essential
Tyner, but as a sampler of this period of his work, it's representative and highly enjoyable. ~ Jeff Tamarkin
