This performance is part of the LaSalle Bank Paradise Jazz Series programmed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and is rescheduled from a cancellation earlier in the season.

What jazz musician can ask for a better mentor than John Coltrane? Yet at only 17, Philadelphia-born pianist McCoy Tyner had the good fortune of working with the legendary saxophonist and becoming a part of the fertile jazz and R&B scene of the early 1950s. The pair established a fast and extraordinary chemistry, both personally and musically, and collaborated on the 1960 bestselling album My Favorite Things, propelling both performers to iconic status. Coltrane invited Tyner to join his band, the John Coltrane Quartet. The group, which also included drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Jimmy Garrison, meshed immediately, fostered in part by Tyner's almost-familial relationship with Coltrane, and became one of the most seminal groups in jazz history.

Between 1960 and 1965, Coltrane encouraged Tyner's continued musical development, and the young pianist developed a sophisticated new vocabulary that transcended the piano styles of the time. He created a unique harmonic underpinning and rhythmic charge that would become an essential aspect of the group's trademark sound, also one of the most identifiable in improvised music. His contributions and rhythmic devices influenced the techniques of many jazz pianists who followed.

In 1965, after over five years with Coltrane's quartet, Tyner left the band to explore his potential as a composer and bandleader. His success continued in this transition, which was exemplified by hit songs such as "Passion Dance" and "Four By Five" in his 1967 album, The Real McCoy. His 46-year career has garnered four Grammy Awards, 80 albums and the 2002 Jazz Master Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Still a breathtaking live performer, Tyner thrills concertgoers with his dexterous fingers as much today as he did with the John Coltrane Quartet. -- www.detroitsymphony.com