The McCoy Tyner Trio

The McCoy Tyner Trio is a jazz music group founded and led by pianist McCoy Tyner (born on December 11, 1938, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Starting out playing with John Coltrane as a 17-year-old pianist, McCoy Tyner's passionate, rhythmic style stood out in the 1950s era of bebop and vibrant R&B, and he went on to play a key role in some of jazz's most important moments. As part of Coltrane's classic quartet, he performed on seminal albums My Favorite Things (1961), Impressions (1963) and A Love Supreme (1964). During his time with John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner formed his own trio – with Art Davis (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums) - and released the album Inception in 1962. The album was greeted with critical acclaim. His second trio album – Reaching Fourth – was released that same year and featured a different trio line-up: Roy Haynes (drums) and Henry Grimes (bass). McCoy Tyner set his trio aside, left Coltrane’s band and pursued a solo career, ending up as a member of Ike & Tina Turner’s band. In the early 1970s, he had a career resurgence beginning with his 1972 album Sahara. He didn’t revive the McCoy Tyner Trio until 1987’s Bon Voyage, recorded with Avery Sharpe (bass) and Louis Hayes (drums). He continued to release albums with his trio sporadically although the line-up continued to change with each release. McCoy Tyner died on March 6, 2020, at the age of 81.