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Beyond Fourths and Pentatonics: A Critical Analysis of Selected Recordings of McCoy Tyner from 1962 to 1963

In this paper, I explore the early musical language of McCoy Tyner. Today, Tyner is recognized mostly for his use of quartal harmony and pentatonic scales despite having made recordings in his early career that reflect a more mainstream approach. In an effort to expand how Tyner is represented, I argue that Tyner's early style was characterized by a graceful balance of tradition and innovation, a masterful blend of bebop syntax with pentatonic melodies and quartal harmonies. The recordings that I analyze and discuss are: "Effendi," "Cousin Mary," and "Newport Romp." I transcribed and analyzed selected portions of these recordings in order to better understand his early musical language as a soloist from 1962 to 1963. A portion of this paper is focused on the early reception of Tyner, which acknowledged him as an accomplished mainstream player with a firm grasp of the jazz tradition. Ultimately, my analysis shows that Tyner's early style was a balance of tradition and innovation, incorporating bebop syntax, pentatonic melodies, and quartal harmonies.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1703303
Date05 1900
CreatorsSatterthwaite, Gregory
ContributorsMeder, Dave, Claure, Fabiana, Leali, Brad, 1965-
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formatv, 37 pages : illustrations, music, Text
RightsPublic, Satterthwaite, Gregory, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.
RelationRecital: November 20, 2017, not yet digitized, Recital: November 19, 2018, not yet digitized, Recital: April 23, 2019, not yet digitized, Lecture recital: March 5, 2020, not yet digitized

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