Vinyl Vault — McCoy Tyner, “Trident”

The Vinyl Vault features a 1975 album from McCoy Tyner entitled “Trident.” The album was released on Milestone Records and featured Ron Carter on bass and Elvin Jones on drums.

Tyner was the pianist in John Coltrane’s band from 1960 until December 1965, a time when Coltrane really found his spiritual sound and recorded, among many other albums, the classic “A Love Supreme.” After leaving Coltrane’s band, Tyner struggled for many years to find his own place in the jazz world. He recorded a number of albums, but none seemed to really break through. Also, during this time, Tyner redoubled his efforts at honing his craft. He spent untold hours in the woodshed.

During his time with Coltrane, Tyner proved himself to be a creative and highly skilled pianist. But after nearly 10 years of serious practice, he emerged as a significantly better player. It was against this backdrop that Tyner recorded “Trident.” He and drummer Jones had spent considerable time together in Coltrane’s band and knew each other well. Carter was a veteran of Miles Davis’s band. Together, the trio reached heights Tyner had foreseen but hadn’t quite achieved up to that point. “Trident” features a Tyner at the pinnacle of his powers at the keyboard.

Besides piano, Tyner also played harpsichord and celeste on the album. However, the acoustic piano was his primary instrument. The album featured three Tyner compositions along with covers of tunes by Jobim, Monk and his former employer Coltrane.

Join Geoff Anderson on Tuesday, August 15 at 8:30 pm for the next Vinyl Vault with McCoy Tyner’s “Trident” on KUVO JAZZ.

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