Echoes of a Friend

McCoy Tyner | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ojc
• ASIN: B000000YV1
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,552 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving tribute, November 28, 2000

By 

Tyler Smith (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Echoes of a Friend (Audio CD)

"Echoes of a Friend" offers one of the finest tributes to the memory of John Coltrane that this listener has heard. Who better to extend the musical accolades than Tyner, who of course served in Coltrane's famous quartet for the last six years of the great saxophonists life?

This album was recorded five years (1972) after Coltrane's death, and Tyner's musical progress is evident, especially on his version of "My Favorite Things." Recording it was a bold move, given the intense identification of the piece with Coltrane. Tyner had of course played on the Trane's original version in 1960 and on nearly all of the saxophonist's subsequent reinventions of the tune. Tyner stays away from the familiar hypnotic waltz-time refrain he had played on the original. This version is at times thunderous, almost orchestral in its density, and its rhythms, melodies and overtones are far more complex than any version I heard him play with Coltrane. It's a masterpiece.

Another great inclusion is "The Promise," which he recorded with Coltrane on the "Live at Birdland" release. The composition was, for me, one of Coltrane's best, although it's rarely if ever mentioned when Coltrane's best writings are discussed. Tyner captures the tune's dark melodicism, but he takes the tune at a slightly different pace and again layers powerful chords over lyrical passages he creates with his right hand.

One of Trane's enduring legacies is that he urged musicians always to look for their own voice. There have been many musicians since his death who have found ways to imitate his sound. Tyner showed with this release (he was only 32 years old at the time) that he had truly absorbed the message, incorporating the best elements of Trane's music with his own unique sound on the piano.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McCoy's Masterpiece, October 9, 2004

By 

Phillip J. Crawford (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Echoes of a Friend (Audio CD)

McCoy Tyner is one of the most important pianists in jazz history. His 40+ year career is remarkable for its diversity and consistent high quality. I consider this recording his crowning achievement. Not only is "Echoes of a Friend" my favorite Tyner recording, I consider it to be one of the finest solo piano recordings I have ever heard. This is not easy listening music. If you like Kenny G., this is not for you. This is intense, passionate music played by a virtuoso musician. Think "Art Tatum meets Igor Stravinsky" and you'll have some idea what this CD is like. Along with Coltrane's "First Meditations (for Quartet)," this is some of the most astonishing spiritual/religious music ever recorded. (And this is coming from an atheist!) Buy this CD, turn out the lights, lie down with your head between the speakers, and prepare to have your consciousness altered.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Quintessential Piano Performance, August 16, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Echoes of a Friend (Audio CD)

McCoy has reached the pinnacle of piano mastery with this performance. My favorite things is quite possibly his most exotic and incredible work. I love this album. It is my favorite next to "Kind of Blue" and "My Favorite Things" by Miles and John respectively. It is also a great exhibition of modal jazz perfected by Miles in the 60s..