Of pianist
McCoy Tyner
's seven
Blue Note
albums of the 1967-1970 period,
Expansions
is the most definitive.
Tyner
's group (comprised of trumpeter
Woody Shaw
, altoist
Gary Bartz
, tenor saxophonist
Wayne Shorter
,
Ron Carter
on cello, bassist
Herbie Lewis
, and drummer
Freddie Waits
) is particularly strong, the compositions (four
originals plus
Calvin Massey
's
"I Thought I'd Let You Know"
) are challenging, and the musicians seem quite inspired by each other's presence. The stimulating music falls between advanced
hard bop
and the
avant-garde
, pushing and pulling at the boundaries of modern mainstream
jazz
. ~ Scott Yanow