Mccoy

This album features various performances by the McCoy Tyner Big Band from 1991 to 1993. While it is by no means a "must-have" for fans, it is a nice cross-section of what the band sounds like live.

An obvious classic, this piano solo record features McCoy Tyner paying tribute to John Coltrane. Tyner not only plays three of Coltrane's songs ("Naima," "Promise," and "My Favorite Things") but two of his originals (a lengthy "The Discovery" and "Folks") which display how much the pianist had grown since leaving the saxophonist's group in late 1965. Few McCoy Tyner records are not easily recommended but this one even ranks above most.

Bill Withers performs a heartfelt song expressing his love for his partner and his dreams for their future together. He also shares his thoughts on the struggles and hardships of being a black man in America. Withers delivers a powerful spoken word performance, reflecting on the pain and frustration felt by the black community and encouraging the audience to remember the struggles and stand up against oppression. The episode also features a conversation between Bill Withers and poet May Jackson about love, urban life, and black consciousness. Additionally, Bill Withers shares memories of his grandmother and her influential role in his life.

Bill Withers performs a heartfelt song expressing his love for his partner and his dreams for their future together. He also shares his thoughts on the struggles and hardships of being a black man in America. Withers delivers a powerful spoken word performance, reflecting on the pain and frustration felt by the black community and encouraging the audience to remember the struggles and stand up against oppression. The episode also features a conversation between Bill Withers and poet May Jackson about love, urban life, and black consciousness. Additionally, Bill Withers shares memories of his grandmother and her influential role in his life.

Pianist McCoy Tyner's first full-length trio album since 1964 was one of his most popular. Accompanied by bassist Ron Carter and Elvin Jones, Tyner (who uses harpsichord and/or celeste for flavoring on three of the six pieces) shows why he was considered the most influential acoustic pianist of the era (before Bill Evans began to surpass him in that category). Whether it be Jobim's "Once I Loved," "Impressions," "Ruby, My Dear" or Tyner's three powerful originals, this set finds Tyner in peak form.

This hour-long concert album offers a chance to hear McCoy Tyner in a rare solo performance. His playing is fast and daring, as the ideas tumble one after another in his improvisations, whether he is addressing an original like "Suddenly," an old favorite written by his old boss John Coltrane, "Giant Steps," or a ballad standard like "Darn That Dream." A virtual retrospective on a long career by a still-vital artist, Live in Warsaw offers the listener an opportunity to hear Tyner's mature reflections on the music of his past and present in an unfettered context.

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…