McCoy Tyner is one of my all time favorite jazz piano players – he is an absolute diamond in the rough. In a nutshell, McCoy Tyner cut his teeth in the jazz scene playing piano in Coltrane's band before a long and healthy solo career. My favorite of his solo albums is Nights of Blues and Ballads and I cannot recommend it highly enough if you don't already have this one in your collection. Regardless, I had a one of those transcendent moments this morning while drinking a cup of coffee and listening to McCoy Tyner perform his rendition of The Beatles classic, She's Leaving Home.
I've already called Tyner himself a diamond in the rough, but more specifically, that's how I feel about his performance amongst a collection of thirteen other jazz interpretations of Beatles songs from the 1995 album (I Got No Kick Against )Modern Jazz: A GRP Artists' Celebration Of The Songs Of The Beatles. If you are curious, or would like to purchase just this track, the album is available on Amazon. The band is McCoy Tyner on Piano, Avery Sharpe on Bass, and Aaron Scott on Drums. Collectively, I enjoy the way they stay true to the original song and its emotional content, while speaking their own language. The best story tellers always manage to get the important parts correct, even if they change the details along the way.