McCoy Tyner's Milestone sessions

[mikeweil]

Eric Gravatt is great. I wonder why he hasn't been more visible- is he still playing? I hope he hasn't moved to Vermont.

A google search turned up this:

10/12-10/9: JAZZ GREAT ERIC KAMAU GRAVATT LIVE!!

Reply to: bmiletich@comcast.net

Date: 2003-08-20, 7:31PM

WAYNE SHORTER JUST SAID IN "MODERN DRUMMER": " ERIC WAS THE ONE...MILES WANTED HIM,BUT HE CAME WITH US IN WEATHER REPORT." < MODERN DRUMMER PG. 110 SEPT. 2003 ISSUE>

MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW TO ATTEND THIS GREAT EVENT IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA!!

ERIC KAMAU GRAVATT WILL BE PERFORMING WITH SOME GREAT YOUNG NEW TALENT IN THE LOVELY WINE COUNTRY,THE TOWN OF PETALUMA- IN BEAUTIFUL SONOMA COUNTY!

AT "ZEBULON'S LOUNGE " WHERE ONE CAN HEAR SOME OF THE BEST LIVE JAZZ 7 NIGHTS A WEEK!!!

A SMALL, VERY INTIMATE SETTING WITH A GREAT WINE LIST, A VARIETY OF SAKI DRINKS, & OVER 25 FINE BELGIAN ALES, "ZEBULON'S" RECENTLY CELEBRATED THEIR FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF LIVE NITELY JAZZ!!!!!!!

THE DATES ARE: 10/09/03 TO 10/12/03.

DISCOUNT AIRFARE AND BRAND NEW SHERATON HOTEL RATES ARE DISCOUNTED AS LOW AS $49.00 PER NITE!....RIGHT ON THE PETALUMA RIVER THAT LEADS TO THE SF BAY!

FOR DETAILS: bmiletich@comcast.net OR trevor@zebulonslounge.com

feel free to call Brent @ #415/307-8739

.... and this gig has just taken place:

Live Jazz in Minneapolis, Saint Paul Minnesota September 2003

September 4

Source Code w/ Eric Kamau Gravatt & the amazing Dave Hagedorn on vibes @Artists' Quarter

.... but he must have a regular gig with this band:

Artists' Quarter (651-292-1359), 408 St. Peter St., in the basement of the Hamm Building, St. Paul. (Use entrance on 7th Place. Parking is available on the street and nearby ramps.) Every first and third Thur., Source Code with Eric Kamau Gravatt, percussion; Dave Hagedorn, vibes; Ron Evaniuk, bass; Dean Brewington, alto sax; and Dave Leigh, trombone, 9 p.m.

... and he must have recorded an album recently with British pianist Tony Hymas.

Edited September 4, 2003 by mikeweil

[chris olivarez]

I was obliged to sell off a lot of albums a few years back and most of the Tyner milestones went by the boards. I've never ceased regretting that.

Edited September 5, 2003 by chris olivarez

[chris olivarez]

Thanks.What's their web site address?

[chris olivarez]

Once again many thanks.

[JazzRules]

I really like Supertrios. I find myself going back to that one quite often. There is a great version of The Greeting that always kicks my ass.

I enjoy most of McCoy's Milestone work. Some are stronger than others, but you really can't go too wrong with any of them. Especially the earlier stuff.

There was a really good one. I don't believe I've ever seen it on CD. It was a double LP if I recall, and somewhere I have it.

LPs are such a pain.

[JazzRules]

i was just wondering if anyone had insight into whether tyner actually made a decision to exclude caucasian musicians from his bands or it just happened that way.

He once made a record with Carlos Santana in the early 80s. Does he count?

[mikeweil]

I really like Supertrios. I find myself going back to that one quite often. There is a great version of The Greeting that always kicks my ass.

I enjoy most of McCoy's Milestone work. Some are stronger than others, but you really can't go too wrong with any of them. Especially the earlier stuff.

There was a really good one. I don't believe I've ever seen it on CD. It was a double LP if I recall, and somewhere I have it.

LPs are such a pain.

Supertrios is on Milestone MCD-55003-2:

McCoy Tyner Fantasy Catalog Page 2

[kh1958]

Here's a bonanza of McCoy Tyner on LP.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...1&category=1078

[Eric]

Wow - did somebody sneak into my basement and lift these?

Eric

[Vincent, Paris]

Enlightenment - this is live and outstanding. The intensity comes very close to the classic Coltrane quartet. Azar Lawrence burns on sax and there is a great solo piece here too. Thunderous!

Does anyone happens to know what ever Azar Lawrence has become since?

[Vincent, Paris]

AMG forgets to mention that Lawrence played with Miles Davis for a short time.

How a man who played with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Miles Davis, Woody Shaw, etc. can disappear ?

[montg]

I have always been a fan of "Enlightenment" and "Atlantis" myself. They are very high intensity live sessions, but I think he was still trying to define himself after Trane.

I love "Supertrios", too. Both sessions are really killer - defined more by the different drummers than anything else. In fact, it's a real drumming "tour de force", IMO. Both Tony and Jack were really on during these dates.

I heard a track the other day on radio that just blew me away...it took me a day to find out what it was, turns out it's a song from Atlantis ('Makin' out). The absolute power of Tyner's playing in this era is awesome. I ordered the Atlantis cd from concord today, can't wait.

[Free For All]

I've always liked Atlantis. One of my favorite McCoys from that era.

[Kyo]

So, Chris, get yourself an EMusic account and you can have the whole enchilada for $10/month. In fact, you could probably just do the FREE 50-tune trial and get a good portion of that stuff without spending a penny.

I know this post is over four years old, I just find it a funny coincidence that back

in the days (about two years ago I think) those McCoy Milestone albums were one

of the reasons for me to give the eMusic trial offer (got 100 free mp3s!) a chance.

Between those free 100 songs and the 90 I got for my first month once I signed

up for real (which happened on the same day!), I got all those albums and a lot

more, too! Haven't regretted the decision ever since, actually my Save For Later

list is constantly pushing the 100 albums limit - is there some way around that?

Edited January 11, 2008 by Kyo

[Kyo]

Thanks! I should've figured that one out myself, heheh.

[poetrylover3]

My favorite Milestone recordings are Enlightenment-Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit is incendiary!- Super Trios (the title is accurate)- Song of the New World and it's hard to be objective about this body of work.

Peace,

Blue Trane

[Guy Berger]

On 1/10/2008, 4:21:18, Free For All said:

I've always liked Atlantis. One of my favorite McCoys from that era.

I finally started listening to this (it was acquired in a death-of-Fantasy binge back in 2009) last week.  It's of very high quality, like all of the other Milestone MT I've heard (Sahara, Enlightenment, Echoes of a Friend, Sama Layuca).  I was a little skeptical about Tyner of this period tackling standards, but the Coltrane-esque "My One and Only Love" is excellent.  The obvious reference point for Atlantis is Enlightenment, since that is also a >70 minute live album, though Enlightenment is much more intense.  Of course, that's only a matter of degree since Atlantis is a 9 or 8 on the intensity scale.

Hard to believe that in retrospect, THE REAL MCCOY sounds positively "cute"/"polite" compared to McCoy's later work.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Guy Berger

[ghost of miles]

On 9/3/2003 at 6:22 AM, mikeweil said:

The most interesting band for me was the 1976 edition with Gary Bartz, Joe Ford, Ron Bridgewater, Charles Fambrough and the very underrated Eric Gravatt on drums. They only recorded one album, Focal Point, which uses sax ensembles via overdub to good effect, but the duo of Tyner and Gravatt (Parody) shows what energy this band must have had live - no two bars are played alike. To me this album is the real gem of his Milestone years, and I regret there was no live album recorded.

Just picked this one up a few days ago and it's making a bid to become one of my favorites from Tyner's Milestone period, which I find myself going back to more and more often.  Will definitely check out The Greeting and Together after reading some comments about them in this thread and the one Big Al started.

[Gheorghe]

I´ll have to purchase this. Really great company. I saw McCoy Tyner with Joe Ford and Ran Blake in March 1980 and I still remember the first tune they played that I liked much, and couldn´t find the title of the tune until someone from here said me it´s "The Seeker" , which is on "Quartets" which I purchased as soon as I heard about it.

I also like Horizon very much, and the double album with the two trios. And of course, the "Milestone Allstars" .

[Pim]

Love his work for Milestone! I have got:

Sahara

Trident

Echoes of a Friend

Supertrios

Fly With The Wind

Song of the New World

Together

I personally see his solo outing ‘Echoes of a Friend’ as his finest. Love that album. ‘Fly With The Wind’ is the one I not really like. For me the strings on that album just don’t work. 

What really irritates me is amateurish way these sessions have been reissued by OJC. His name is misspeled on two of my reissues, on the side! His name according to OJC is: McCoy Turner, McCoy Tyurner. The title of Echoes of a Friend is misspelled as Echoes of a Frien. Also: I really dislike the sound  quality of Sahara. Anyone else that recognize these problems?

Apart from this: these are wonderful recordings from a very fruitful period of this wonderful pianist. Enjoy them multiple times a month!

Edited November 12, 2017 by Pim

[mhatta]

Recently, I was watching (a YouTube clip of) the Late Show with Stephen Cobert.  The guest was Gilbert Gottfried, and the theme the band played was somehow...I was quite flabbergasted.

 

Edited November 12, 2017 by mhatta

[mhatta]

My favorite of McCoy Tyner on Milestone years is Song for My Lady.  I think this one is often overlooked, but IMHO it's even musically better than Sahara or Fly With The Wind (I like both, btw).  A no-nonsense Jazz.  Especially his treatment of The Night Has a Thousand Eyes is powerful.

 

Edited November 12, 2017 by mhatta

[Teasing the Korean]

I tend to like the Milestone period the best, because of the conceptual nature of the albums and interesting group configurations.  These albums used to be everywhere for little money, because everyone seemed to want the Blue Note or Impulse! stuff.  The savvy consumer buys when prices drop.  

[Larry Kart]

I like that period too, but IIRC I liked hearing McCoy's working bands of that period even more than I liked the recordings. I'll never forgot the bizarre ride cymbal setup of Eric Gravatt, the cymbal almost vertical and so high that it looked like he might have trouble reaching it. Never fear; he bashed the holy hell out of that thing.

[jeffcrom]

The second major jazz show I attended, at age 18 or so, was McCoy Tyner's group at a small club in Atlanta, with many of the musicians mentioned in this thread - Ron Bridgewater, Joe Ford, Charles Fambrough, Eric Gravatt, and I think Guilherme Franco on percussion. I was about four feet from Gravatt's ride cymbal, and it was intense.