McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke & Al Foster

by Richard S. GinellNo longer trying to push the envelope of innovation, Tyner settles down with a pair of experts and carves out a very nice, fairly orthodox piano trio album. This is Tyner reaffirming most of his strengths: the massive tone quality, the two-handed control over the entire keyboard, and the generally uplifting attitude conveyed through the shape of his melodic invention. He does so in a program of six originals, three standards, and one tune by Stanley Clarke, mixing modal tunes, blues, funk, ballads, and a mildly Caribbean ringer. Only once does he evoke memories of the classic John Coltrane Quartet -- not in "Trane-Like" but in "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes." Clarke takes a break from the film studios and turns in one of his rare sessions on acoustic double bass, producing solid, faultless, relatively conventional support. He doesn't leave the electric bass entirely at home, however; his funky side bumps through one of the two versions of "I Want to Tell You 'Bout That," and he exercises low-key, electric subtleties on his "In the Tradition Of" and "Caribe." Foster throws himself skillfully into every situation; he is at ease in all idioms. The sound is excellent, with each instrument, even Tyner's formidable piano, in perfect balance.