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.
Speak Low
McCoy Tyner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our summer day withers away
Too soon, too soon.
Speak low when you speak, love,
Our moment is swift, like ships adrift,
We're swept apart too soon.
Love is a spark lost in the dark,
Too soon, too soon,
I feel wherever I go
That tomorrow is near, tomorrow is here
And always too soon.
Time is so old and love so brief,
Love is pure gold and time a thief.
We're late darling, we're late,
The curtain descends, ev'rything ends
Too soon, too soon,
I wait darling, I wait
Will you speak low to me,
Speak love to me and soon.
In McCoy Tyner's song "Speak Low," the singer addresses their lover, imploring them to speak gently and softly about their love. The song begins with a lamentation over the fleeting nature of summer days, which seem to end too quickly. The second verse reinforces this idea, comparing their time together to ships adrift that are swept apart too soon. The chorus then returns, repeating the idea of speaking low, calling love a spark lost in the dark and lamenting that tomorrow always seems to come too soon.
The singer then expounds on the theme of time and love, noting the deep value of love but the fleeting nature of time. Love is described as pure gold, but time is a thief, stealing away the moments they have together. The song concludes with the singer reflecting on the inevitability of endings, noting that the curtain descends on all things too soon. Still, the singer waits for their lover to speak low, to speak love to them, holding onto the hope that their love can exist despite the transience of time.
Overall, "Speak Low" is a poignant meditation on the temporality of love and the power of gentleness and softness in how we speak about it. The singer is acutely aware of the fragility of love and the inevitability of endings, but still clings tightly to their relationship, hoping for even a little more time.
Line by Line Meaning
Speak low when you speak, love,
Say what you will, but say it softly.
Our summer day withers away
Too soon, too soon.
Just like the fleeting summer days, our love is coming to an end too quickly.
Our moment is swift, like ships adrift,
We're swept apart too soon.
Our time together is like ships caught in the current, drifting apart too quickly.
Speak low, darling speak low,
Love is a spark lost in the dark,
Too soon, too soon,
Keep your voice down when you speak, my love. Our love is like a flame that can be easily extinguished, ending too soon.
I feel wherever I go
That tomorrow is near, tomorrow is here
And always too soon.
No matter where I am, it always feels like tomorrow is near and that it's arriving too soon.
Time is so old and love so brief,
Love is pure gold and time a thief.
Time is ancient and seems to last forever, but love is short-lived and can be stolen away in an instant.
We're late darling, we're late,
The curtain descends, ev'rything ends
Too soon, too soon,
Our time together is ending too quickly. It feels like the curtain is closing on our love and everything is coming to an end too soon.
I wait darling, I wait
Will you speak low to me,
Speak love to me and soon.
I'm waiting for you to speak to me, my love. Speak to me softly and tell me you love me - and tell me soon.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KURT WEILL, OGDEN NASH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind