(McCoy Tyner, piano; Latin All Stars, Gary Bartz, sax; Terence Blanchard, trumpet; Christian McBride, bass; Lewis Nash, drums, Bobby Hutcherson, vibes, Stanley Clarke, bass; Al Foster, drums and others)
Not having paid much attention to Tyner’s earlier releases, on first hearing I didn’t realize this CD was a compilation of finest movements from five of his previous albums for Telarc, recorded 1998 thru 2003. Of the eight tracks, I liked best the two Latin numbers from his first Telarc CD. Mongo Santamaria’s Afro Blue gets a 12-minute treatment that gets things off to a spicy start, and Kenny Dorham’s Blue Bossa later on is also a kick, with great solos by Dave Valentin on flute and Gary Bartz on sax.
Bobby Hutcherson’s artistry on vibes makes a fine combo with Tyner’s piano on If I Were a Bell, and two tracks are included from Tyner’s strictly solo piano CD, Jazz Roots, showing he has more than the chops to handle a flight without the support of a rhythm section. The closing track with Stanley Clarke and Al Foster as his rhythm section continues the Latin flavor with Carriba. Altogether a most listenable sampling of the work of one of the best jazz pianists around.
TrackList:
1. Afro Blue
2. If I Should Lose You
3. You Taught My Heart To Sing
4. If I Were a Bell
5. Summertime
6. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
7. Blue Bossa
8. Carriba
– John Henry
