Tyner was born in Philadelphia as the oldest of three children. He was encouraged to study piano by his mother. He finally began studying the piano at age 13 and within two years, music had become the focal point in his life. His early influences included Bud Powell, a Philadelphia neighbor. Among many other things, Tyner's playing can be distinguished by a low bass left hand, in which he tends to raise his arm relatively high above the keyboard for an emphatic attack, creating at times a veritable tsunami of sound. Tyner's unique right hand soloing is recognizable for a detached, or staccato quality, and descending arpeggios, both of a triadic shape and in other patterns. His unique approach to chord voicing has influenced a wide array of contemporary jazz pianists.
Tyner's first main exposure came with Benny Golson being the first pianist in Golson's and Art Farmer's legendary Jazztet (1960). After departing the Jazztet, Tyner joined Coltrane's group in 1960. (Coltrane had known Tyner for a while, and featured one of the pianist's compositions, "The Believer", as early as 1958.) He appeared on the saxophonist's popular recording of "My Favorite Things" for Atlantic Records. The Coltrane Quartet, which consisted of Coltrane on tenor sax, Tyner, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums, toured almost non-stop between 1961 and 1965 and recorded a number of classic albums, including Live at the Village Vanguard, Ballads, Live at Birdland, Crescent, A Love Supreme, and The John Coltrane Quartet Plays ..., on the Impulse! label.
Tyner has recorded a number of highly influential albums in his own right. While in Coltrane's group, he recorded a series of relatively conservative albums (primarily in the piano trio format) for Impulse, starting with the fleet-fingered Inception (1962), which showcases Tyner's work as a composer. After leaving Coltrane's group, Tyner began a series of post-bop albums released on the Blue Note label, in the 1967–1970 time frame (The Real McCoy, 1967; Tender Moments, 1967; Expansions, 1968; Extensions, 1970). Soon thereafter he moved to the Milestone label and recorded many influential albums, including Sahara (1972), Enlightenment (1973), and Fly With The Wind (1976), which featured flautist Hubert Laws, drummer Billy Cobham, and a string orchestra. His music for Blue Note and Milestone often took the Coltrane quartet's music as a point of departure and also incorporated African and East Asian musical elements. On Sahara, for instance, Tyner plays koto, in addition to piano, flute, and percussion. These albums are often cited as examples of vital, innovative jazz from the 1970s that was neither fusion nor free jazz. Trident (1975) is notable for featuring Tyner on harpsichord (rarely heard in jazz) and celeste, in addition to his primary instrument, piano. Often cited as a major influence on younger jazz musicians, Tyner still records and tours regularly and played from the 1980s through '90s with a trio that included Avery Sharpe on bass and Aaron Scott on drums. He made a trio of mature yet vibrant solo recordings for Blue Note, starting with Revelations (1988) and culminating with Soliloquy (1991). Today Tyner records for the Telarc label and has been playing with different trios, the most recent of which includes Charnett Moffett on bass and Eric Harland on drums.
Tyner was a Sunni Muslim for a period of time beginning at the age of eighteen. His Muslim name was Sulaimon Saud. Today Tyner does not practice a specific religion.
McCoy Tyner was also married at one time and has three sons. His brother, Jarvis Tyner, is a high official in the leadership of the American Communist Party. McCoy, however, is not a pronounced advocate of any political ideology.
How Deep Is the Ocean
McCoy Tyner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll tell you no lie
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How many times a day do I think of you?
How many roses are sprinkled with dew?
To be where you are?
How far is the journey
From here to a star?
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How far would I travel
To be where you are?
How far is the journey
From here to a star?
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How high is the sky?
The lyrics to McCoy Tyner Trio's song "How Deep Is the Ocean?" are a series of questions that a lover asks, expressing the depth and intensity of their feelings. The first verse asks how much the singer loves their partner, and then compares it to the vastness of the ocean and the sky. These questions are rhetorical, as the answer to both is infinite, emphasizing the depth and sincerity of the singer's love. In the second verse, the singer asks how frequently they think of their partner and compares it to the number of dew-covered roses, again emphasizing the abundance and intensity of their love. The final verse asks how far the singer would travel to be with their partner, and then compares it to the distance of traveling to a star. The last two lines express the singer's fear of losing their partner and how deeply devastated they would be.
This song's lyrics have a timeless quality, expressing an eternal love that crosses generations and decades. The metaphorical language used in the song expresses the richness and depth of love, using vivid images of the ocean and the sky. This song is not only a romantic ballad but also an exploration of the vastness of human emotion.
Line by Line Meaning
How much do I love you?
Inquiring about the extent and intensity of love felt towards the other person
I'll tell you no lie
Asserting the truthfulness of the upcoming statement about the love felt
How deep is the ocean?
Asking how vast and profound the love is
How high is the sky?
Enquiring about the endless extent of love felt without any limit or boundary
How many times a day do I think of you?
Asking how frequently the other person is on the mind
How many roses are sprinkled with dew?
Using a poetic imagery to convey how much the other person is thought about
How far would I travel
Asking about the willingness to go any distance to reach the other person
To be where you are?
Asking about the desire to be in the physical presence of the other person
How far is the journey
Asking about the distance that needs to be covered to be with the other person
From here to a star?
Using hyperbole to emphasize the length of the journey that would still be undertaken for the other person
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
Reflecting on the potential emotional devastation of losing the other person
How high is the sky?
Repeating the earlier question to underlie the extent and limitlessness of the love felt
How high is the sky?
Asking once again to accentuate the boundlessness of love without any constraints
Lyrics © IMAGEM U.S. LLC , Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
judy kopulos
The real McCoy, love him!
judy kopulos
Chills! So great!
Lafayette Gunter Jr
I love this cat he's my favorite jazz 🎹 player
ygg drasil
Fuck. Another great gone.