Tyner plays some things on the piano, but I don’t know what they are. | | | | McCoy Tyner at the Jazz Showcase, Chicago, 1970s.
(Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Archive Photos/Getty Images) | | | | | |  | “Tyner plays some things on the piano, but I don’t know what they are.”
| | | | | | rantnrave:// You could no more separate MCCOY TYNER's two hands—his dominant left, mapping changes and implying and inviting harmonies, and his skittering right, prone to fantastical solo runs—than you could separate him and the other three jazz giants who constituted JOHN COLTRANE's classic early-'60s quartet. "We functioned like one person," Tyner once said. "It wasn’t like we were four guys on stage doing his own particular kind of thing. It had to be in relationship to the total." A recipe for jazz, and for life. Tyner's style, including his signature, ambiguous fourth chords, left plenty of harmonic space for his bandmates to explore, and he knew intuitively how to react and respond in turn. He was a talker, as it were, and the conversations between four men pushing and prodding one another along were the stuff of jazz history. Tyner's piano was frequently the moderator. "When you are thinking of Coltrane playing 'MY FAVORITE THINGS' or 'A LOVE SUPREME,'" the NEW YORK TIMES' BEN RATLIFF wrote on Friday, "you may be thinking of the sound of Mr. Tyner almost as much as that of Coltrane’s saxophone." Tyner, who died Friday at 81, was the last surviving member of that quartet. He left in 1965, when Coltrane expanded his band and headed further into free jazz. Tyner said he couldn't hear himself anymore in the conversation. A long, varied half-century of recordings as (mostly) a bandleader—with his own bigger bands, with strings, with flutes, solo, covering BURT BACHARACH—followed. It cemented and expanded Tyner's reputation as one of jazz's foundational pianists, even if it took a minute or two for the world to catch on. Circa the late '60s and early '70s, as Ratliff notes, Tyner thought about becoming a cab driver. He died, many decades later, driving a very different kind of vehicle and still conversing like your favorite cabbie all along. RIP... I'm not the first to point out that last week was devastating to two of the capitals of live music in the US, with the tornado that tore through Nashville and the canceling of this year's SXSW to preempt the possibility of the coronavirus tearing through Austin. This is an especially good week to see live music, whether it means supporting a favorite band or exploring a new one. And/or buy music and merch. In Nashville, BRANDI CARLILE, JASON ISBELL, SHERYL CROW, SOCCER MOMMY and many others are playing a benefit tonight, and other stars have pitched in with big contributions of their own, as a city fights back against Mother Nature. The ripples of the SXSW cancellation have reached well beyond Austin, as bands who planned release schedules and touring schedules around the festival are working on their Plan B's. Others are going ahead with modified Plan A's, as various clubs are working to put on a kind of shadow SXSW, trying to do their part not just to salvage their own season, but the season of an entire city's live music infrastructure. Music heals, always... COACHELLA and STAGECOACH are still officially on, although local officials say the situation is "very fluid." A hospital on Saturday reported the Coachella Valley's first coronavirus case. GLASTONBURY is also still a go... COLDPLAY at NPR's TINY DESK... RIP also STEVE WEBER of the HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator | | | |  | Austin American-Statesman | | The cancellation - the first in SXSW's 34 years - ended more than a week of behind-the-scenes efforts to try to keep the festival afloat. | | | | | Austin American-Statesman | | Cancellation of the event is a financial gut punch for owners and employees of downtown bars, restaurants and concert venues, many of whom have come to rely on the influx of cash SXSW produces. | | | |  | Do the M@th | | As influential as he’s been, there’s something eternally mysterious about Tyner’s vocabulary. | | | |  | The New York Times | | Mr. Tyner, who first attracted wide notice as a member of John Coltrane’s groundbreaking quartet, influenced virtually every pianist in jazz. | | | |  | Level | | Twenty-three years ago, The Notorious B.I.G. left his 52-inch belt at ‘The Source’ magazine weeks before he died. Nine Keepers of the Belt kept it safe and secret. Why was this accessory so important? | | | |  | The Future of What | | Music production has become increasingly fragmented thanks to the advent of affordable studio technology and high speed internet connections, which comes with both benefits and drawbacks. The main benefit is that band members and songwriting teams can now collaborate from anywhere in the world at any time of day, and they can arrange for special guest features with little more than a simple email exchange. | | | |  | Rolling Stone | | After years of delays, Lil Uzi Vert was still able to surprise fans with the release of his sophomore album - which happens to be some of his best work to date. | | | |  | Water & Music | | Like Spotify, Sony Music Entertainment no longer wants to be known just as a music company. | | | |  | Allure | | With their first album in 14 years, The Dixie Chicks are set to reclaim their place among the greatest singer-songwriters after the industry turned on them. | | | |  | Los Angeles Times | | The 10-day festival that was due to start March 13, known here simply as “South By,” is a major engine of the creative economy. And some of those heavily invested said they do not intend to change their plans. | | | |  | NBC News | | Eilish recently raised some interesting points on image versus reality, but there should also be an awareness of the cost of living your absolute truth. | | | |  | The Independent | | Springsteen found his own parking space as the superstars arrived in limos, Prince didn’t turn up at all, Bob Dylan blanked Al Jarreau, and Michael Jackson terrified Lionel Richie. | | | |  | NYU School of Law | | This is a story about how the most sophisticated copyright filter in the world prevented us from explaining copyright law. It doesn’t involve TikTok dance moves or nuanced 90s remixes featuring AOC. | | | |  | Pollstar | | Streaming behemoth Spotify has been outspoken in its support of artists since 2006 when Daniel Ek co-launched the game-changing app straight outta Stockholm. | | | | | Rolling Stone | | They’ve made inroads into North America, but the nine-piece K-pop group is setting its sights higher. | | | |  | The Conversation | | Busking has long been a way for musicians to gain performance experience and garner a following. Digital platforms are powerful tools that can transmit local artists to global audiences. | | | |  | The Washington Post | | Algiers, an Atlanta punk band, flex myriad influences on their new album “There Is No Year.” | | | |  | Forbes | | Demystifying Spotify playlists and the editors who make them. | | | |  | Collectors Weekly | | Between June 15 and 25, 2019, several thousand rock posters flew off a dozen or so merch tables on two continents. The occasions were concerts headlined by Dave Matthews Band, Foo Fighters, The National, Eddie Vedder, Phish, and Death Cab for Cutie. | | | |  | The New Yorker | | The forty-four-year-old singer-songwriter should be a star. But country radio has mostly exiled songs with ambivalent or outright unhappy endings-especially when a woman’s voice is singing them. | | | | |  | | YouTube | | | | | | | | | | | From "Echoes of a Friend" (1972). RIP. | | | | | | | | © Copyright 2020, The REDEF Group | | |
