Tyner Jazz Fine at Power Center

Tyner Jazz Fine At Power Center

BY JIM KANE

News Music Critic

It wasn’t just another concert at the Power Center for the Performing Arts Sunday night.

It was a musical experience: an experience many people won’t forget for a long time.

Providing those many, memorable moments was McCoy Tyner and his quintet which literally left the audience exhausted — that is, happily exhausted -- following a brilliant, powerful concert.

Tyner gained prominence during the 1960’s playing piano with the late John Coltrane’s group. However, since then, he has emerged as one of the most inventive and dynamic pianists-composers on the jazz scene today.

Tyner doesn’t use the electronic trappings many of his counterparts are into. His intense, orchestral approach to the keyboard is overwhelming and penetrating and leaves no room for gimmicks. Tyner’s compositions have a special spiritualistic, African quality which he heightens with rapid, rippling runs contrasted with thunderous crescendoes.

At times, he seems like he’s meditating while playing. Then he erupts in high energy improvisational flights. He sets a torrid pace for the rest of his group, but his sidemen complement him and each other in fine fashion.

Adding fuel to the fiery numbers was Azar Lawrence whose offerings on tenor and soprano saxes are as big and muscular as he is. Lawrence’s style is hot and heavy. His notes Aren’t blown. They’re blasted out like from a white hot blast furnace.

Rounding, out the rhythm section are  E.W. Wainwright on drums and Guilherme Franco on percussion. Joony Booth was on bass, but technical problems unfortunately caused his playing to drowned out most of the time.

Wainwright’s volcanic style fits in perfectly with Tyner’s explosive percussion attacks on piano. The two teams up with each other for numerous driving, imaginative, rhythmic exchanges,.

Coloring the entire concert was the fascinating percussion work of Franco who skillfully blended his wild, weird assortment of Latin and jungle sounds with the quintet. When he wasn’t pounding, beating or shaking something, he was blowing or twirling something else. Despite the unusual array of rhythmic textures and instruments, Franco effectively and tastefully added, not detracted, from his fellow musicians.

It was Franco who usually got things going with some subtle percussion work. It was like the calm before the storm with leaves rustling softly in the breeze. Then ' the storm would unleash its fury as the group exploded!

There were also some soothing moments as Lawrence would wax sentimental on tenor sax during a ballad and Tyner would pour forth some reflective, sensitive phrasings. The two would then wed their instruments together for some warm, lyrical, refrains which were as soothing as a mother’s love for her child.

This was McCoy Tyner’s first, appearance in Ann Arbor. By the enthusiastic, standing ovation he received, let’s hope it’s not his last either.

The concert was sponsored by Eclipse Jazz, a division of the U-M’s University Activities Center (UAC) Concert Series. Eclipse Jazz is a new venture dedicated to bringing fine jazz artists to the Ann Arbor area. It couldn’t have hoped for a better beginning.