Was listening to Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" for the first time in a while and noticed how in the middle Coltane doesn't play a note for five minutes. He just lets McCoy Tyner explore for 5 minutes of a 14 minute song. Can anyone recommend any McCoy Tyner albums that have that dreamy and psychedelic feel as in those five minutes? I wanna get lost in that for a while.
It sounds like what you're looking for is mellower McCoy in a modal style with a hypnotic quality. During the '70s he would often have one or two tracks per album in that style. For example: "Above the Rainbow" and "Desert Cry" on Sama Layuca "The Discovery" and "The Promise" on Echoes of a Friend (a completely solo album; also includes a version of "My Favorite Things" -- highly recommended) "For Tomorrow" on Inner Voices Much of the album Trident You should probably find something you like on all of his '70s albums. After the 70s he was still great but his style became a bit more traditional.
I also recommend Trident. Would like to see some SACDs of his albums (Trident, Fly With The Wind, Song Of The New World etc.)
To be honest, this isn't great advice considering what the OP asked about. The Impulse Reevaluation compilation for Tyner is a mix of a couple of later Coltrane pieces and stuff from Tyner's own Impulse albums. Tyner's Impulse albums ('62-'64) are mostly piano trios in a fairly traditional swing/bop style style, similar to Red Garland's piano trios for Prestige. They are excellent (almost all Tyner albums are excellent), but except for one or two tracks here and there, they don't have the hypnotic modal quality the OP is looking for.
Great OP/thread. I often marvel at Tyner's playing on Coltrane's My Favorite Things, and most of the solo work I have from him contains a traditional swing/bop style style, so I look forward to exploring @Maggie's suggestions.
I realize I should also have recommended the classic The Real McCoy from 1967, which has a couple of ballads with long, suitably contemplative solos in "Contemplation" and "Search for Peace." These are right in the "My Favorite Things" vein.
Trident is exactly what I was looking for. Super Dreamy but Elvin Jones keeps it from being sleepy. Thanks for the recommendation. I live a few blocks from Euclid Records New Orleans and cut outta work early and picked up Trident and Focal Point for less than $25 combined. Gonna dive into Focal Point tonight.
Let me also recommend a double-vinyl compilation called Cosmos. It came out on Blue Note in the ’70s, and consists of sessions that were not released in any official albums. It’s also on Spotify, so you can preview before you buy. It’s dreamy, textural stuff. Plenty of moments of Mr. Tyner letting loose, and laying back. Instrumentation is pretty interesting as well – goes beyond the traditional quartet. I dig this set a lot.
As an impressionable 15 year old an older chap in a record store recommended Fly With The Wind to me in 1976. I had little idea who Tyner was, but recognized Billy Cobham of course. Also has Ron Carter and Hubert Laws, and strings.