Mccoy Tyner & Latin All-Stars
Fresh from a world tour, McCoy Tyner's Latin All Stars headed straight to the studio to preserve the memory. The nine-member powerhouse includesSteve Turreon trombone and shells,Gary Bartzon alto and soprano, Avery Sharpe on bass, Ignacio Berroa on drums,Giovanni Hidalgoon percussion,Johnny Alemendraon timbales,Claudio Roditoon trumpet and flügelhorn,Dave Valentinon flute, and the maestro on piano. The opener, "Festival in Bahia," is a great showcase, complete with a vamp tailor-made for solo stretches of improvisatory machismo. Tyner's rendition of "Poinciana" (a tune so immortalized byAhmad Jamalthat almost no one else courts it) is done sans horns and sounds fresh. Unfortunately, the direct-to-two-track mode of recording does not do justice to such a capacious ensemble: the percussion loses much of its depth, the trombone sounds by turns strident and muddy, the clarity of the sax is inconsistent, and the shells fare even worse. Even this lamentable circumstance does not rob the album of its momentum:Kenny Dorham's classic "Blue Bossa" is taken at a tempo that would burn a dancer to dust, andMongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" is mined for all it's worth. The pianist is, of course, the crowning glory: singularly thrilling in approach and execution, he remains inimitable.--Karen Bennett