McCoy Tyner was very productive in the 70’s for the Milestone label and released some real gems during that decade. This one was his first for the label and it’s a lovely session. The music has post bop moments and also has oriental, far east and spiritual flavors added to great effect. “Valley of Life” for example is completely in that vein, with Tyner playing the ”koto”, a Japanese stringed instrument.
On the opening track on the first side Sonny Fortune tears it up on the soprano. A brilliant player who I need to explore more. He also plays alto on the rapid ”Rebirth” with a fiery passion. Really dig the drummer on this session as well. Alphonze Mouzon is his name and I’m not sure if he is present on other titles in the collection. I doubt it. Will look into his work as well cause he is killing it. Bassist Calvin Hill is another one I haven’t heard of before. Top player. Another deep dive pending. Tyner is of course absolutely stunning as always. The technical prowess of this cat is something to behold. His fast runs played with his patented feather light touch are mesmerizing. His powerful chords are also present and add so much weight. His compositional skills are top notch as well, evident on this album for sure. All tunes are penned by him. I have far too few of his albums in the collection, but I’m aiming to remedy that.
One has to mention the second side as well which features the over 23 minutes long title track, which takes up the entire side. Oriental touches comes from Fortune’s soprano and the level of his playing is stunning. The overall tempo and intensity is really pulling me into the music and leaves the outside world in the dust. A fantastic escape.
This album is a welcome addition to the shelves and I’m hoping to be able to add another one of the leader’s 70’s titles soon as well.
