Focal Point (album)
| Focal Point | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1976 | |||
| Recorded | August 4–7, 1976 | |||
| Studio | Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA | |||
| Genre | Jazz, post-bop, modal jazz | |||
| Label | Milestone M 9072 | |||
| Producer | Orrin Keepnews | |||
| McCoy Tyner chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| All About Jazz | (Positive)[2] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [3] |
| Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |  [4] |
Focal Point is a 1976 album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, his tenth to be released on the Milestone label. It was recorded during four days in August 1976 and features a septet fronted by three reed players, which were in part multiplied through overdubs. On one track Tyner is heard picking a dulcimer backed by tablas, evoking the sound of an Indian sitar. "Parody" is a duo by McCoy Tyner and Eric Gravatt on drums. The album was digitally mastered at Fantasy Studios in 1999 and re-released on Original Jazz Classics.
Reception
"Focal Point looks to secure the firepower in the studio which the band generated in concert", write Cook and Morton in their Penguin Guide to Jazz, but arguing that the overdubbing of the horns would "sometimes lead[] to stiffness in the ensemble sound". Nevertheless they "were a little surprised to find how well it's aged".[4] The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "Because virtually all of McCoy Tyner's records are superior examples of modal-oriented jazz, this gem is merely an above-average effort".[5]
Track listing
- "Mes trois fils" - 7:56
- "Parody" - 6:55
- "Indo-Serenade" - 5:35
- "Mode for Dulcimer" - 8:59
- "Departure" - 5:58
- "Theme for Nana" - 5:14
- All compositions by McCoy Tyner
Personnel
- McCoy Tyner: piano, dulcimer (track 4 only)
- Joe Ford: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute (except track 2)
- Gary Bartz: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, sopranino saxophone, clarinet (exc. 2)
- Ron Bridgewater: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone (exc. 2 and 6)
- Charles Fambrough: bass (exc. 2)
- Eric Kamau Gravatt: drums
- Guilherme Franco: conga and percussion (exc. 2), tabla (4 only)
References
- ^ Allmusic Review
- ^ All About Jazz review
- ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 194. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ a b Cook, Richard and Morton, Brian (2006), The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, 8th edition, London: Penguin Books, p. 1311, ISBN 0-141-02327-9
- ^ Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed February 24, 2009.
| Impulse! (1962–1964) | |
|---|---|
| Blue Note (1967–1970) | |
| Milestone (1972–1981) | |
| Various (1981–1989) | |
| Various (1990–1994) | |
| Impulse! (1995–1997) | |
| Telarc (1999–2004) | |
| McCoy Tyner Music (2004–2009) | |
| Related |
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