McCoy Tyner Expansions 180g LP

Pianist McCoy Tyner was an acknowledged force of nature. On the aptly-named Expansions, Tyner fronts a remarkable band consisting of Woody Shaw on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Gary Bartz on alto saxophone, Ron Carter on cello, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Freddie Waits on drums. Stand-out tracks in a program of four Tyner originals and one standard include the timeless masterpiece "Peresina" and the immersive opening track "Vision."

Blue Note Records' Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tapes, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).

Of pianist McCoy Tyner's seven Blue Note albums of the 1967-1970 period, Expansions is the most definitive.

Joined by a crack ensemble featuring, among others, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Ron Carter on cello and bassist Herbie Lewis, this LP finds the prickly midpoint between jazz's modal interests and its growing avant garde school. Tyner rarely sounded as playful as he does throughout, particularly on his original compositions which find him splashing at times like a faulty player piano and pushing against the smoothness of Shorter, alto saxophonist Gary Bartz and trumpeter Woody Shaw with rough stabs of notes and fiery melodic bursts.