McCoy Tyner, who died on Friday at 81, has been a steadfast presence on the air at WBGO since our inception.
His album Horizon was made in 1979, the year WBGO was founded, and it quickly joined the ranks of McCoy Tyner recordings in our library. And of course, he’s featured on myriad albums by his peers, from John Coltrane to Freddie Hubbard to Newark’s own Wayne Shorter.
In 2008, Tyner received the Miles Davis Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. In addition to this honor – presented to “a great international jazz musician for the entire body of his or her work and influence in regenerating the jazz idiom” — Tyner took part in the festival’s Invitation Series, appearing in a small array of different ensembles.
WBGO’s Michael Bourne was at the festival as usual that year, and he sat down with Tyner for a brief but informative conversation.
They covered Tyner’s start as a pianist, when he would practice on an instrument in his mother’s beauty salon: “That was the largest room in the house, so it was ladies getting their hair done, and we had a jam session right next to them.”
They talked about Oscar Peterson, whom Tyner was involved in honoring: “He set such a precedent for piano, it’s amazing. I used to watch him and say, ‘How did he do that?’”
And they reflected on saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, whom Tyner knew as a small child: “He’s amazing. Sometimes I look at him, and he looks so much like his father, the way he stands – but he’s not trying to emulate his father, note for note.” (Coltrane performed in a trio with Tyner at that year’s festival.)
McCoy Tyner will always be a force on our broadcast, and in our coverage at WBGO.