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JAZZ MASTER PERFORMS AT REICHHOLD CENTER

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   NEA Jazz Master McCoy Tyner brings his blues-based piano style to Reichhold Center for the Arts on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 8 p.m.
    Known as one of the best living composers of the genre, Tyner received the prestigious Jazz Master Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2002.
    In the early years of his career, Tyner played with the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane. Since his years with Coltrane, Tyner has become a legend in his own right. The jazz great has released 80 albums and has performed at notable New York jazz houses, the Blue Note and The Village Vanguard.
    During the 1980s, Tyner recorded and performed with the McCoy Tyner Trio featuring Avery Sharpe on bass and Aarron Scott on drums. At 67, Tyner still leads the McCoy Tyner Trio, accompanied by bassist Charnett Moffett and drummer Eric Kamau Gravatt.
    Tyner also tours with the McCoy Tyner Septet accompanied by Moffett, Gravatt, Eric Alexander, Wallace Roney, Steve Turre and Donald Harrison.
As a composer, Tyner won acclaims for collaborations with Ailey II Dance Company and tap dancer Savion Glover.
    Tyner was born in Philadelphia in 1938 and started playing piano at 13. The young Tyner trained at West Philadelphia Music Center and Granoff Music School. The music prodigy added to his jazz repertoire by studying the European Classics such as Bach and Beethoven.
The future jazz legend became a part of the thriving Philadelphia jazz scene of the 1950s, having been influenced by the sounds of Thelonious Monk, Art Tatum and legendary bebop pianist Bud Powell. As a teenager, Tyner was a member of the Jazztet, a group co-led by saxophonist Benny Golson and trumpeter Art Farmer.
    At 17, after waiting for Coltrane to leave Miles Davis’ group, Tyner became part of the John Coltrane Quartet. Tyner sharpened his skills under Coltrane and performed on recordings, including Live at the Village Vanguard, Impressions and jazz classic A Love Supreme.
    After playing on some of Coltrane’s most influential works such as Giant Steps and My Favorite Things Tyner left the Quartet. In 1965 he released his first solo album, The Real McCoy.
    The master pianist won his first Grammy Award in 1988 for the Blues for Coltrane-A Tribute to John Coltrane album. Tyner won four more Grammy Awards for his albums Infinity, Journey, The Turning Point and Illuminations. Illuminations, his latest album combines the sounds of Gary Bartz on saxophone, Terrence Blanchard on trumpet, Christine McBride on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums.
    McCoy Tyner’s appearance at Reichhold Center is sponsored by First Bank, First Insurance, Marriott Frenchman’s Reef Resort, Tropical Shipping, and the Virgin Islands Council for the Arts.
   NEA Jazz Masters on Tour is an initiative of the National Endowment of the Arts sponsored by Verizon in partnership with Arts Midwest. Additional support is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through a grant to Chamber Music America.
    Tickets are available at Modern Music, Parrot Fish, UVI Bookstore, V.I. Bridal & Tuxedo and the Reichhold Center Box Office at 693-1559.