by Dr. Geoffrey Dean
When discussing influential modern jazz pianists from the 1960’s into the and its following decades, the contributions of McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett are essential to the foundations of modern jazz piano. Sometimes referred to as the four pillars of modern jazz piano, these pianists made harmonic and rhythmic advancements that would become essential elements of jazz piano. Additionally, after arriving in the late 1970’s Kenny Kirkland can be looked at as a further synthesis of the advancements of Tyner, Hancock, Corea, Jarrett. A short review of some of the contributions from these pianists help modern students as well as historians understand the unique ways they expanded the harmonic and rhythmic language jazz pianists use today. While each of these pianists were visionaries in their own rights, examining their relationships with their contemporaries also helps to understand their significance.
McCoy Tyner
In 1960 McCoy Tyner began playing with the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane. Tyner’s time with this group created a multitude of albums between 1960-1965 that saw Tyler exploring ideas like- Quartal harmony, particularly voiced in the left hand. Previously pianists had generally used tertial harmony (harmonic voicings stacked in thirds to create chords). This new sound would become an essential tool in how pianists would voice chords as well as move through harmonies. Tyner also used pentatonic scales to apply consonant and dissonant sounds to create his own style and identity at the piano that would continue to grow and crystalize into the 1970’s and beyond. Listening to his solo on “The Night Has A Thousand Eyes” from the 1964 record Coltranes Sound in comparison to his playing on the same song from his 1973 album “Song For My Lady’ showcases Tyner’s growth during this period. Additionally, his own album as a bandleader “The Real McCoy” is a great demonstration of his playing containing a number of compositions that have since become jazz standards.
Chick Corea
Armando “Chick” Corea was a jazz pianist and prolific composer who emerged as a master technician of the instrument while applying the modern innovations surrounding him at the time. In the 1960’s Corea began as a sideman for musicians like Stan Getz and Blue Mitchell. Listening to Corea on Mitchell’s 1964 track “Fungii Mama” from The Thing To Do shows a pianist still in flux from his three strongest influences- Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, and McCoy Tyner. By 1968 Corea had crystalized a harmonically and rhythmically advanced style with a light touch on his famous trio recording Now He Sings Now He Sobs. His composition “Matrix” which is his own take on a 12 bar blues shows Corea’s innovative nature. Corea would assimilate the quartal harmonic advancements of Tyner along with his own contributions to harmonic and rhythmic language. Additionally the latin influence in Corea’s music can not be ignored with compositions like Spain, La Fiesta and others which are now jazz standard repertoire.
Herbie Hancock
A prodigy at the piano since childhood, Herbie Hancock was making popular recordings of his own like “Watermelon Man” and “Cantaloupe Island” at an early age before joining what is known as Miles Davis’ second great quintet in the piano chair. During the 1960’s Herbie along with Wayne shorter helped to lay the harmonic and compositional foundation of the band as it pushed the sounds of modern jazz into the 1970’s. Non-traditional harmony, as well as the application of modern classical influences would craft Hancock’s sound in addition to his rhythmic fluidity. Herbie Hancock would go onto embrace the funk sounds of the 70’s with his Headhunters group. Into the 1980’s Hancock would continue to embrace technology to produce the beat driven composition “Rockit” which would go on to have pop success. Hancock’s versatility, technicality, and open-mindedness to span genres have made him one of the most successful jazz pianists in history.
Keith Jarrett
In contrast to Hancock and Corea, Keith Jarrett has generally stayed away from electric piano in his albums and has made the acoustic piano the focus of his jazz piano playing throughout his career. Jarrett began his career with musicians Charles Lloyd and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, showcasing an incredible technical virtuosity and a unique language of his own at the piano. Jarrett would go on to focus his energy from the late 60’s into the 1970’s into growing and performing what he called spontaneously improvised solo piano concerts. One of the best examples of Jarrett’s solo piano is 1975’s The Koln Concert which has gone on to become the best-selling solo piano album of all time. Jarrett’s harmonic application and time feel are unique and his left-hand devices help advance the ostinato foundations of solo jazz piano.
About Dr. Geoffrey Dean
Dr. Geoffrey Dean is a jazz pianist, composer, author and educator currently performing in the Washington DC trigon. His music spans the entire genre of jazz – from blues and hard bop influences to classical music, R&B and modern jazz. Dr. Dean has recently authored an educational book on how to play modern jazz piano titled Kenny Kirkland’s Harmonic and Rhythmic Language: A Model For The Modern Jazz Pianist. It can be purchased at Kennykirkland.com as well as the Jamey Aebersold website Jazzbooks.com Dr.Dean has additionally contributed as an author for the Masterclass series in Downbeat Magazine. His albums can be found on all streaming platforms as well as CD and Vinyl. Dean completed his Undergraduate studies at the Berklee College Of Music, a Masters of Jazz Studies at the University of Tennessee, and his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
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