''Things Ain't What They Used to Be'' is an album by
McCoy Tyner released on the
Blue Note label. Like ''
Revelations
Revelation, in religion and theology, is the act of revealing through communication with supernatural entities.
Revelation(s) may also refer to:
* Book of Revelation or simply Revelation, the last book of the New Testament
* Revelation (Latter Da ...
'' (1987), it was recorded at
Merkin Hall and features solo performances by Tyner, in addition he performs three duets with guitarist
John Scofield and two with tenor saxophonist
George Adams. The
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
review by
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref>
Biography
Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles.
Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...
states that "the pianist makes every melody sound like a fresh original through his distinctive chord voicings and harmonies. This is a strong effort by one of the best."
[Yanow, S. ]Allmusic Review
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
accessed March 3, 2009.
Track listing
# "The Greeting" - 2:26
# "
Naima" (
Coltrane) - 3:42
# "I Mean You" (
Hawkins,
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
) - 4:57
# "
Here's That Rainy Day
"Here's That Rainy Day" is a popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke that was published in 1953. It was introduced by Dolores Gray in the Broadway musical '' Carnival in Flanders''.
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra ...
" (
Burke
Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...
,
Van Heusen) - 6:02
# "
Things Ain't What They Used to Be
"Things Ain't What They Used to Be" is a 1942 jazz standard with music by Mercer Ellington and lyrics by Ted Persons.
Background
In 1941 there was a strike against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, of which Duke Ellington ...
" (
Ellington,
Persons
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, ...
) - 3:52
# "
Joy Spring
"Joy Spring" is a 1954 jazz composition by Clifford Brown that became his signature work. The title was his pet name for his wife Larue.
Early history
Brown first recorded "Joy Spring" in a studio session led by him on August 6, 1954, at Ca ...
" (
Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...
) - 4:21
# "
Lush Life" (
Strayhorn) - 5:34
Bonus track on CD
# "Song for My Lady" - 6:28
Bonus track on CD
# "
Sweet and Lovely
"Sweet and Lovely" is an American popular song of 1931, composed by Gus Arnheim, Charles N. Daniels, and Harry Tobias.
Recordings of the song which charted in 1931 are:
* Gus Arnheim & His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra with a vocal refrain by Dona ...
" (
Arnheim,
LeMare,
Tobias
Tobias is the transliteration of the Greek which is a translation of the Hebrew biblical name he, טוֹבִיה, Toviyah, JahGod is good, label=none. With the biblical Book of Tobias being present in the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha of the Bible, To ...
) - 3:56
Bonus track on CD
# "
What's New?
What's New?" is a 1939 popular song composed by Bob Haggart, with lyrics by Johnny Burke.
It was originally an instrumental tune titled "I'm Free" by Haggart in 1938, when Haggart was a member of Bob Crosby and His Orchestra. The tune was writte ...
" (Burke,
Haggart) - 3:53
# "Search for Peace" - 6:09
# "Blues on the Corner" - 6:25
# "
My One and Only Love" (
Mellin,
Wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
) - 8:00
:''All compositions by McCoy Tyner except as indicated''
:*Recorded at Merkin Hall, NYC, November 2, 1989 (solos), and November 27, 1989 (duets)
Personnel
* McCoy Tyner –
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
*
John Scofield –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
(tracks 3, 4, 6)
*
George Adams –
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
(tracks 12 & 13)
References
{{Authority control
1990 live albums
McCoy Tyner live albums
Blue Note Records live albums