LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

This was Tyner's second Milestone album following the 1972 Sahara (which was a recording by his working quartet) and preceding many ambitious adventures involving strings, voices, big band arrangements, and multiple overdubs. The record itself is situated between those extremes: in part it is by McCoy's quintet, but the remainder is augmented by such guests as Mtume on percussion, violinist Michael White, and flugelhornist Charles Tolliver. Above all, it defines the pianist's powerful and highly influential style and format of the Seventies: percussive piano, extensions of Coltrane modality, and emphasis on Tyner's hypnotically firm original compositions.
track listing: Native Song, The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Song for My Lady, A Silent Tear, Essence