Quartet

McCoy Tyner became well-known as the pianist for the John Coltrane Quartet, and forty years after Trane’s death, he still draws from the musical and spiritual heft associated with that group. On Quartet, the essence of that sound lives on, but the band on hand for this live recording — Joe Lovano on tenor saxophone, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts — has its own vibe as well. People have often referred to Coltrane’s legendary sheets of sound, but Tyner makes a big, beautiful noise, too, and Lovano is a natural for Tyner’s project. He’s influenced by Coltrane and can lean in that direction when he wants to, but he’s had his own voice for a while and uses it here to craft his engaging solos. Every track except one is an original and it’s interesting to hear what Tyner does with the familiar compositions at this point in his career. (Quartet was recorded in late 2006 and released in 2007.) The closer is a solo piano version of “For All We Know,” a standard from the 1930s. It’s a nice change of pace from the rest of the album and a chance to hear Tyner bring his touch to an old song.