Legendary jazz pianist McCoy Tyner to perform at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix
December 31, 2008
SCOTTSDALE – Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present the McCoy Tyner Quartet at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix on Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. as part of its 2008-09 “Detour” Season. The concert is presented with support from The Fred J. English and Sara M. English Charitable Trust, Chase, Alice and David Olsan and National Endowment for the Arts.
Single tickets are available for $42 from the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts box office at (480) 994-ARTS (2787) or online at www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org
Hailed as a master pianist, jazz stylist and one of the best composers of the genre, McCoy Tyner has shaped modern jazz for more than 50 years. His blues-based piano style, replete with sophisticated chords and an explosively percussive left hand, has transcended conventional styles to become one of the most identifiable sounds in improvised music.
Today, Tyner’s harmonic contributions and dramatic rhythmic devices form the vocabulary of a majority of jazz pianists.
Born in 1938 in Philadelphia, Tyner became part of the fertile jazz and R&B scene of the early 1950s. At 17, he began a career-changing relationship with Miles Davis’ sideman, saxophonist John Coltrane. Tyner joined Coltrane for the classic album My Favorite Things (1960), and remained at the core of what would become one of the seminal groups in jazz history, The John Coltrane Quartet.
In 1965, Tyner broke out as a composer and band leader and has since released nearly 80 albums, earned five Grammys and was a 2002 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master recipient. He has collaborated with the dancers of Ailey II and the electrifying tap artist Savion Glover and appeared on television with David Letterman, Conan O’Brien and Biography’s Breakfast with the Arts. Tyner nurtures each facet of his art with gusto, uncompromising integrity and boundless energy, and he continues to leave his mark on generations of improvisers.
Courtesy Photo/John Abbott
McCoy Tyner, hailed as a master pianist, jazz stylist and one of the best composers of the genre. Tyner has shaped modern jazz for more than 50 years.
