Some musicians who attain legendary status are content to revel in past triumphs.
Others search restlessly for new sounds, as if bored with yesterday’s music.
Though there never has been any question about which philosophy describes jazz innovator McCoy Tyner, the pianist underscored the point Tuesday night at the Jazz Showcase, where he’s playing through the week.
Certainly anyone expecting to hear standard-issue Tyner was caught off guard the moment the pianist put fingers to keys. Though the magnificently dense chords that are Tyner’s trademark were in place, the man addressed the instrument in surprising ways.
Tyner always has been a muscular player, bringing considerable brawn and heft to the keyboard. Listen to him perform with his exceptional big band, and you will hear the rare pianist who genuinely can hold his own against a roaring jazz orchestra.
In the trio setting that he typically brings to clubs, however, Tyner’s work sometimes can be surprisingly introspective, as it was throughout a ravishing set at the Jazz Showcase. Here was a piano titan exploring the subtler side of his art.
Not that Tyner shied away from making vivid statements. His all-over-the-keys pianism, outrageously fast right-hand passages and sweeping evocation of several historic styles left no doubt about the man’s ability to control a keyboard.
Yet Tyner played virtually every number in this set at about half the volume one might have expected, and with a far gentler keyboard attack. The result was a music that retained Tyner’s symphonic sweep but freshened it with the shimmering colors and translucent textures one doesn’t necessarily associate with him.
So Tyner’s first set of the evening represented something of an experiment, as if the pianist were trying to coax new sounds from the instrument. The lush chords and muted inner voices he brought forth in his own “Mellow Minor” epitomized the sonic quality of this set.
The most compelling moment of all, though, came with Tyner’s extended solo introduction to Thelonious Monk’s “Blue Monk.” By combining gritty blues chords with a classic stride piano style, Tyner hit on a distinctive, wry approach to the tune that probably would have amused the composer.
Throughout, bassist Avery Sharpe and drummer Aaron Scott gave the pianist precisely the gently nuanced rhythmic backdrop he needed.
Can anyone doubt that Tyner now commands one of the most finely tuned–and least predictable–trios in jazz?
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The McCoy Tyner Trio plays through Sunday at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave. Phone 312-670-BIRD.
