McCoy Tyner - Counterpoints - Live in Tokyo - Limited Edition 180 Gram LP

LIMITED EDITION 180 GRAM LP

LET’S START OUT WITH A DISCLOSURE: I’ve got nothing new to tell about McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter, or Tony Williams that you don’t already know. The treat here is hearing them live, obviously having a wonderful time; and there’s the opportunity to listen to a brand-new tune (at least new to listeners who weren’t in Tokyo in July 1978, since it went into the we’ll-get-to-it-someday can later that summer), “Iki Masho (Let’s Go),” which McCoy finally named a quarter-century later. The other tunes aren’t new to the Tyner canon either. McCoy recorded “The Greeting” and “Prelude to a Kiss” in April 1977 for his Supertrios (both with the same personnel heard here, Milestone MCD-55003.2). “Aisha” first saw the light of day on John Coltrane’s Atlantic LP Olé, featuring Freddie Hubbard and Eric Dolphy with Mr. Tyner on piano, from May 1961. And “Sama Layuca” gave a name to its parent album, with Bobby Hutcherson, Azar Lawrence, and John Stubblefield in McCoy’s March 1974 recording, now OJC-1071. (Other material recorded the same July evening in Tokyo, incidentally, came out on vinyl in 1979 as Passion Dance, Milestone LP M-9091. The five tracks on this LP were not included there. “Sama Layuca” and “Aisha” are piano solos; “Prelude to a Kiss” is a duet by Tyner and Carter. Recorded in performance at a “Live Under the Sky” Festival concert at Denen Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan, July 28, 1978. Closing concert announcement by Bill Allen.

Tracklist:

Side 1

1. THE GREETING 11:24 (McCoy Tyner) Aisha Music-BMI
2. AISHA 7:00 (McCoy Tyner) Aisha Music-BMI
3. SAMA LAYUCA 6:28 (McCoy Tyner) Aisha Music-BMI

Side 2

1. PRELUDE TO A KISS 9:13 (Duke Ellington-Irving Gordon-Irving Mills) Famous Music/EMI Mills Music-ASCAP
2. IKI MASHO (LET’S GO) 13:28 (McCoy Tyner) Aisha Music-BMI

Personnel:

McCOY TYNER piano RON CARTER bass TONY WILLIAMS drums.

Credits:

Original session produced by ED MICHEL, executive producer: ORRIN KEEPNEWS. Recorded using the remote recording facilities of Tamco Company, Ltd., with the engineering assistance of Yoshiyuki Kubo of Victor Musical Industries, Inc., and Yoshihumi Takahashi, Satoro Kobayashi, and Tokukazu Ojima of Tamco. Mixed by Stephen Hart (Fantasy Studios, Berkeley) Mastering: George Horn (Fantasy) Recording engineer: Jim Sern Cover photo: Denis Williams/ Heritage Images. Back cover photo: Phil Bray Tony Williams appears courtesy of Columbia Records