''I've never done anything like this before'' McCoy Tyner recently said of his second album on McCoy Tyner Music/Half Note Records, a CD/DVD titled GUITARS. Along with a trio of Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette, Tyner invited guitarists Bill Frisell, Derek Trucks, John Scofield, Marc Ribot, and banjoist Bela Fleck for the studio recording and DVD shoot, scheduled for a September 23 release. ''It was great, and each guy had his own concept and own sound which is very, very important on any instrument, '' said Tyner, ''You know, I look for that, the individual sound and concept. ''
Legendary producer John Snyder oversaw the project along with executive producers Jeff Levenson, VP of McCoy Tyner Muisc/Half Note Records, and Steve Bensusan, President of the Blue Note Jazz Club. Said Levenson, ''What impressed me about the project was how seamless the integration was. We have guys with disparate styles. You have guys who approach their instruments differently. The beauty of this project is how they all found common ground with McCoy. ''
The CD is accompanied by a state of the art DVD featuring songs with each special guest guitarist and bonus footage. The DVD has 3 hours of multiple-angle viewing capability. By clicking the ANGLE button on the remote or the player on a computer, one can watch the Editor s Cut on Angle 1, all four musicians at once with Angle 2 (4 quadrants), or isolate any of the musicians and watch them exclusively with Angles 3 through 6.
Tyner, who will turn 70 on December 11, is looking forward to the week-long celebration at the Blue Note in Manhattan that ends on his birthday. When asked about his recording future, Tyner thought for a time and spoke candidly. ''I think there is always something to do that you haven't done exactly. There's always that the idea of what else can I do, and something always comes up. No two days are the same. So we look forward to tomorrow cause that's going to be different from yesterday and today. Hopefully it's a good one! '' |
