Trident - Harpsichord, Celeste, and Piano... Oh My!

2/24/11 – Trident (McCoy Tyner)

The reason for longevity is truth and honesty, and I think we that we possessed that and it manifested itself in our art form.

– McCoy Tyner

            Two words I never thought I would use in the same sentence – “jazz” and “harpsichord.”  Yet here they are – Trident’s opening track begins with McCoy Tyner, unaccompanied, creating some legitimate grooves on this antiquated instrument.  He is soon joined by the other two members of the trio, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Elvin Jones.  Soon he shifts gears back to his native piano, but this highly modal opening track, “Celestial Chant,” feels equally at home on both instruments.  In fact the nuances in tuning on the harpsichord give the introduction in particular an out-of-the-ordinary yet pleasant ring (almost literally.)  After a brief solo by Carter, Tyner returns again to the harpsichord finding a balance between the instrument’s inherent fragility and an aggressive accompaniment style.

            “Once I Loved (O Amor Em Paz)” instead begins with Tyner on celeste.  While not as effective on the preceding harpsichord track, the change in tone is nice.  Once again, he quickly shifts back to piano.  His stylings here are significantly more flamboyant here than on the previous track, but fit the uptempo bossa nova groove well.  Tyner’s soloing is often compared to that of Coltrane, his longtime collaborator throughout the 60’s.  In fact, Tyner played for Coltrane’s magnum opus reviewed last month, A Love Supreme.  I find his work here to me more modal, and his playing cleaner (although that may just be because he’s a pianist, not saxophonist.)  When he returns again to the celeste for the codetta to the tune, the lines just seem to float away into the atmosphere.

            “Elvin (Sir) Jones,” being named after the trio’s drummer, feature the percussionist prominently.  After a brief solo through the introduction, Jones’ 60 second solo flight begins around the 3 minute mark into the track.  Nothing too obnoxious (as jazz drum solos can occasionally become,) but a good solid showing before a brief head out.  Sadly, there’s not much more substance to the tune – just a vehicle for Elvin it seems.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

            “Land of the Lonely” begins with timer on both harpsichord and celeste – again, a welcome change of tone, but starting to become a bit gimmicky and overplayed perhaps.  The harmonic/melodic relationship is once again decidedly modal in that it prominently features planed parallel fifths in its statements of the tune.  Jones once again gets the brief spotlight for a while, but McCoy carries the bulk of the tune once again.  This time, his return to harpsichord ventures a bit further out of the box than on the opening track.  Then of course, the celeste also returns for a final statement of the melody.  I wish in the process of this tune in particular, Tyner could have spent some time soloing on either the celeste or the harpsichord as opposed to simply using them as bookends for the tune.  That would make for some interesting jazz…

            “Impressions,” a Coltrane original, keeps Tyner on the piano throughout for this one, and has more technical “bebop” elements than most of the previous tracks on the album.  Nevertheless, I find it easier to listen to than Coltrane or other bebop horn players.  Maybe it’s because as a pianist it’s easier to marry the solo lines to the specific voicings, extensions, and harmonies Tyner’s going for, I don’t’ know.  Maybe it’s because the harmonics are clearer on the piano.  Either way, it’s just not as much work to listen to.  Carter’s solo work here is equally commendable, even if not given equal room to develop.

            Thelonius Monk’s “Ruby, My Dear,” brings the album to an interesting close.  As the only ballad on the recording, I for once didn’t miss hearing one to this point.  Also, the decision to reserve the drummer until the second section of the tune seems unnatural.  The absence is too striking, and even when he does come in, it just feels a bit too sparse.  All in all, I find this to be a tremendous album.  Of course there are things I would have liked to have heard a little differently, but if the album were perfect, I’d have so much less to write on…

Tomorrow – Rage Against the Machine

Next week – The Very Best of Sarah Vaughan