Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938 - March 6, 2020) was a jazz pianist f… Read Full Bio ↴Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938 - March 6, 2020) was a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.

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.

Old Devil Moon
McCoy Tyner Lyrics

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I look at you and suddenly
Something in your eyes I see
Soon begins bewitching me
It's that old devil moon
That you stole from the skies
It's that old devil moon in your eyes

You and you glance make this romance

Too hot to handle
Stars in the night
Blazing their light
Can't hold a candle
To your razzle-dazzle

You've got me flyin' high and wide
On a magic carpet ride
Full of butterflies inside
Wanna cry, wanna croon
Wanna laugh like a loon
It's that old devil moon in your eyes

Just when I think
I'm free as a dove
Old devil moon

Deep in your eyes
Blinds me with love

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Old Devil Moon, performed by the McCoy Tyner Trio, revolve around the intense feelings of love, desire, and enchantment that the singer experiences when they first lay their eyes on their beloved. The song starts by highlighting the mesmerizing and captivating qualities of the old devil moon in the eyes of the person they are in love with. The singer feels that something is beginning to bewitch them as they become entranced by the unique qualities that this person possesses. The first few lines of the song suggest that the singer is overwhelmed by the charm and enchantment of their object of affection.

The next part of the lyrics emphasizes the intense passion that the singer experiences in the presence of their beloved. The romance between them is depicted as being too hot to handle, with the stars in the night sky being compared to the blazing light in their lover's eyes. The razzle-dazzle of their lover's eyes has them completely under their spell. The singer's emotions are described in vivid detail as they are taken on a magic carpet ride filled with butterflies inside. The song ends with the singer admitting that the old devil moon in their lover's eyes has them completely blinded by love.

Overall, Old Devil Moon is a passionate love song that explores the emotions of love, desire, and enchantment. The lyrics emphasize the magnetic and bewitching qualities of the person that the singer is in love with, with the old devil moon in their eyes serving as an embodiment of these qualities. The song speaks to the all-encompassing feelings of love and the ways in which it can completely blind us to the world around us.

Line by Line Meaning

I look at you and suddenly
As I gaze into your eyes,

Something in your eyes I see
I catch a glimpse of something, unspoken by words,

Soon begins bewitching me
Slowly captivating me,

It's that old devil moon
It's the romantic aura of the night,

That you stole from the skies
Which seems to be snatched from the vast sky above,

It's that old devil moon in your eyes
That is shining through your captivating eyes,

You and you glance make this romance
Our intense look conveys the love that we share,

Too hot to handle
It's too intense to control,

Stars in the night
The starry night sky that we stand under,

Blazing their light
Even the stars seem to be outshined today,

Can't hold a candle
Are nothing in comparison,