Ronnie Scotts 97/365

(credits: http://www.ronniescotts.co.uk)

Last night, Ruth kindly arranged for us to see the legendery (so we were told) McCoy Tyner Quartert at Ronnie Scotts. An slight elderly man in a white suit shuffled through the stage doors and settled at the piano. As he introduced himself, you could almost hear the awestruck silence in the room (slightly odd!).

Watching him and listening to his music was mesmerizing. Slightly whismical with very diverse and international musical  influence, it was an interesting night to say the least. He had a very unusual percussive left hand, and had an improvisation style that was, to me, somwhere between a jazzy Bela Bartok and a funky Debussy, with a latin twist. Very dramatic, very progressive.  At some point in the evening, I asked Ruth whether slipping between the keys was intentional on his part as it sounded really odd; she told me that it could be age. He is after all, 73!



His finale which was named Blues around the corner was unforgettable --  if only you heard it :)

McCoy Tyner – piano, Gary Bartz – sax, Francisco Mela - drums, Gerald Cannon – bass


Ronnie Scotts
47 Firth Street
London W1D 4HT