The Piper Jaffray Jazz at Orchestra Hall series continues with the McCoy Tyner Quartet in a single performance scheduled at Orchestra Hall for Thursday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. Audiences can expect to hear works from Tyner’s latest album, as well as classic jazz presentations.
McCoy Tyner became a jazz icon as pianist for the legendary John Coltrane Quartet and has since enjoyed more than four decades of success as a solo artist and bandleader. His keyboard signatures, including sophisticated chords and a percussive left hand, are central to the vocabulary of many contemporary jazz pianists.
His original music draws inspiration from many styles, including traditional Latin, African and East Asian music. More recently he has arranged for big bands and strings and has reinterpreted popular music. A four-time Grammy Award-winner, he has recorded nearly 80 albums, most recently Quartet and Guitars, both released on his own label, McCoy Tyner Music. More: mccoytyner.com.
During a five-decade career, saxophonist Gary Bartz has worked with jazz luminaries from Art Blakey and Max Roach to Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. He has enjoyed a long association with McCoy Tyner and performed on his Grammy- winning 2004 album Illuminations. More: garybartz.com.
Bassist Gerald L. Cannon is active as a performer and composer. For seven years he was a member of Roy Hargrove’s band; he has also performed with such elite musicians as Elvin Jones, Branford Marsalis and Wynton Marsalis. He released his self-titled debut album as bandleader in 2004. More: geraldlcannon.com.
Drummer Eric Kamau Gravatt is an alumnus of the bands Weather Report and Natural Life, and now heads his own group, Source Code. For 20 years he set aside his music career to serve as a guard with the Minnesota Department of Corrections in Lino Lakes. He owns the publishing house 1619 Music Company. More: 1619music.com.
Next up in the Piper Jaffray Jazz at Orchestra Hall series are: The Art of Passion on July 23 with Andrew Litton conducting the Minnesota Orchestra and featuring Artistic Director of Jazz Irvin Mayfield in the world premiere of his work The Art of Passion; and the Ramsey Lewis Trio on August 13. -- www.minnesotaorchestra.org
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