{"id":5966,"date":"2025-12-23T22:53:31","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T21:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.murielgrossmann.com\/?p=5966"},"modified":"2025-12-23T23:05:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T22:05:14","slug":"liner-notes-by-syd-schwartz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/?p=5966","title":{"rendered":"ABOUT<\/span> THIS<\/span> ALBUM<\/span> \u2014 MG<\/span> \u2014 PLAYS<\/span> THE<\/span> MUSIC<\/span> OF<\/span> McCOY TYNER<\/span> AND<\/span> GRATEFUL<\/span> DEAD<\/span>"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Fas\u00adter We Go, the Roun\u00adder We Get <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dead Recko\u00adning, Modal Routes<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\nAt first glan\u00adce, the idea that McCoy Tyner and the Gra\u00adteful Dead might share musi\u00adcal DNA<\/span> seems like a stretch. One built frame\u00adworks to sup\u00adport Coltrane\u2019s spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal flights\u2014rewriting the jazz harm\u00ado\u00adny play\u00adbook while tur\u00adning chords into fle\u00adxi\u00adble archi\u00adtec\u00adtu\u00adre. The others were a San Fran\u00adcis\u00adco cir\u00adcus of psy\u00adche\u00adde\u00adlic cha\u00ados and Ame\u00adri\u00adca\u00adna groo\u00adves, an impro\u00advi\u00adsing rock band who\u00adse mytho\u00adlo\u00adgy often overs\u00adha\u00addowed their musicianship.<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\nOn the sur\u00adface, Tyner and the Dead appear to come from dif\u00adfe\u00adrent gala\u00adxies. But lis\u00adten deep\u00adly, and it beco\u00admes clear: they were orbi\u00adting the same planet.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tyner\u2019s play\u00ading was all about shape. He built modal infrastructure\u2014riffs and voi\u00adcings stur\u00addy enough to ground the music, mal\u00adleable enough to beco\u00adme any\u00adthing. Weir\u2019s uncon\u00adven\u00adtio\u00adnal approach to rhythm gui\u00adtar often baf\u00adf\u00adled tho\u00adse expec\u00adting straight rock-ori\u00aden\u00adted time\u00adkee\u00adping. Rather than dri\u00adving a fixed rhythm, Weir cho\u00adse chop\u00adpy, off-kil\u00adter voi\u00adcings that sidestep\u00adped pre\u00addic\u00adta\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty, crea\u00adting cross-curr\u00adents that Jer\u00adry Garcia\u2019s solos could ride, resist, or crash into. By Weir\u2019s own account, he lifted that sen\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty direct\u00adly from Tyner. Lis\u00adten to his chord choices and phra\u00adsing, and the through\u00adli\u00adne is unmistakable.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\nSeen this way, Muri\u00adel Grossmann\u2019s pro\u00adject is a con\u00adti\u00adnua\u00adtion: tra\u00adcing Tyner\u2019s influence as it threads through Weir and onward, then using it as an invi\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon to explo\u00adre the\u00adse com\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adti\u00adons anew. Joi\u00adn\u00aded by Rado\u00admir Milo\u00adj\u00adko\u00advic on gui\u00adtar, Abel Boquera on Ham\u00admond B3<\/span> organ, and Uros Sta\u00admen\u00adko\u00advic on drums, she tre\u00adats the\u00adse four works not as arti\u00adfacts to pre\u00adser\u00adve, but as invi\u00adta\u00adti\u00adons to explore.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe play\u00aded this music using a sort of fil\u00adter,\u201d she says, \u201cso it sounds like when I com\u00adpo\u00adse, record, and per\u00adform our own music. It\u2019s some\u00adbo\u00addy else\u2019s music, but it sounds like our music.\u201d \u2014Muri\u00adel Gross\u00admann, 2025<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\nThe Line from Tyner to Weir<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\nIt\u2019s worth sta\u00adting plain\u00adly: Bob Weir has cited McCoy Tyner as one of his foun\u00adda\u00adtio\u00adnal influen\u00adces. In a 2024 memo\u00adri\u00adal tri\u00adbu\u00adte to his band\u00adma\u00adte, Gra\u00adteful Dead bas\u00adsist Phil Lesh, he wrote:
\n\u201cAt the age of seven\u00adteen, I lis\u00adten\u00aded to the John Col\u00adtra\u00adne Quar\u00adtet, focu\u00adsing on McCoy Tyner\u2019s work, fee\u00adding Col\u00adtra\u00adne har\u00admo\u00adnic and rhyth\u00admic ide\u00adas to spring\u00adboard off of \u2014 and I deve\u00adlo\u00adped an approach to gui\u00adtar play\u00ading based off of it. This hap\u00adpen\u00aded becau\u00adse Phil tur\u00adned me on to the Col\u00adtra\u00adne Quartet.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\nStran\u00adge but true. Weir meta\u00adbo\u00adli\u00adzed Tyner\u2019s har\u00admo\u00adnic den\u00adsi\u00adty, left-hand power, and asym\u00adme\u00adtri\u00adcal swing into a sin\u00adgu\u00adlar rhythm gui\u00adtar lan\u00adguage. Lis\u00adten to \u201cWalk Spi\u00adrit, Talk Spi\u00adrit\u201d from Tyner\u2019s Enligh\u00adten\u00adment (1973), then compa\u00adre it to a long jam on \u201cThe Other One\u201d\u2014say, 5\/10\/72 from the Euro\u00adpe \u201972 box. That cen\u00adter\u00adless gra\u00advi\u00adty, that rol\u00adling churn? Dif\u00adfe\u00adrent instru\u00adments, same engine.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\nThe Dead were never a rock band in the strict sen\u00adse. They func\u00adtion\u00aded as a moving equilibrium\u2014a push-pull bet\u00adween cha\u00ados and trance. Tyner unders\u00adtood that dua\u00adli\u00adty. As Coltrane\u2019s right hand, he held space for ecsta\u00adtic expan\u00adsi\u00adon wit\u00adhout aban\u00addo\u00adning form. That\u2019s what Weir heard. And it\u2019s what Gross\u00admann has tra\u00adced back to its source.
\n\u201cGra\u00adteful Dead music is invi\u00adting,\u201d Gross\u00admann notes. \u201cIt\u2019s open for inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon, yet very definitive\u2014an incre\u00addi\u00adble mix.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\nIt\u2019s also spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal music that didn\u2019t begin in jazz, but wel\u00adco\u00admed it. And among today\u2019s impro\u00advi\u00adsers, few have car\u00adri\u00aded Coltrane\u2019s lineage of modal tran\u00ads\u00adcen\u00addence more con\u00adsis\u00adt\u00adent\u00adly than Muri\u00adel Grossmann.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Walk Spi\u00adrit, Talk Spi\u00adrit\u201d (McCoy Tyner)<\/span><\/strong>
\nPre\u00admier\u00ading on Enligh\u00adten\u00adment (1973), recor\u00added live at Mon\u00adtreux, this track beca\u00adme one of Tyner\u2019s most powerful state\u00adments. Backed by Azar Law\u00adrence, Jun\u00adey Booth, and Alphon\u00adse Mou\u00adzon, Tyner stret\u00adches a simp\u00adle modal riff into 25 minu\u00adtes of dyna\u00admic, man\u00adtra-like expan\u00adsi\u00adon. It quick\u00adly beca\u00adme a stap\u00adle of his live shows and is now a cor\u00adner\u00adstone of spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal jazz. Gross\u00admann calls it \u201ca tune I always wan\u00adted to play,\u201d and it\u2019s easy to under\u00adstand why.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Con\u00adtem\u00adpla\u00adti\u00adon\u201d (McCoy Tyner)<\/span><\/strong>
\nFrom The Real McCoy (1967)\u2014Tyner\u2019s Blue Note debut as a leader\u2014\u201cContemplation\u201d signal\u00aded a turn inward. Along\u00adside Ron Car\u00adter, Elvin Jones, and Joe Hen\u00adder\u00adson, Tyner used space and still\u00adness as tools, buil\u00adding a medi\u00adta\u00adti\u00adve mood wit\u00adhout sen\u00adti\u00admen\u00adta\u00adli\u00adty. This pie\u00adce has quiet\u00adly beco\u00adme one of his most bel\u00adoved ballads\u2014slow-burning, soulful, and elemental.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The Music Never Stop\u00adped\u201d (Weir\/Barlow)<\/span><\/strong>
\nFirst released on Blues for Allah in 1975, this Bob Weir and John Per\u00adry Bar\u00adlow col\u00adla\u00adbo\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon brought fun\u00adkier, shar\u00adper rhyth\u00adms into the Dead\u2019s voca\u00adbu\u00adla\u00adry. The groo\u00adve is unmist\u00adaka\u00adble, and the song\u2019s lyric is a meta-com\u00admen\u00adta\u00adry on the act of play\u00ading music, crea\u00adting imme\u00addia\u00adte reso\u00adnan\u00adce with the Gra\u00adteful Dead\u2019s audi\u00adence. Don\u00adna Jean Godchaux\u2019s vocal refrain, \u201cThere\u2019s a band out on the high\u00adway\u2026\u201d beca\u00adme a kind of ral\u00adly\u00ading cry, yet under\u00adneath is a subt\u00adle ten\u00adsi\u00adon: how do we stay pre\u00adsent while everything\u2019s chan\u00adging? It beca\u00adme an instant live favo\u00adri\u00adte, and remain\u00aded a live stap\u00adle in the Dead (and post-Dead) repertoire.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The Other One\u201d (Gra\u00adteful Dead)<\/span><\/strong>
\nIniti\u00adal\u00adly emer\u00adging in live Dead shows in 1967 as part of a lon\u00adger suite that began with \u201cCryp\u00adti\u00adcal Enve\u00adlo\u00adp\u00adment,\u201d this song was initi\u00adal\u00adly titled \u201cThe Fas\u00adter We Go, The Roun\u00adder We Get.\u201d That<\/span> mor\u00adphed into \u201cThe Other One,\u201d which beca\u00adme one of the band\u2019s cen\u00adtral jam vehic\u00adles from the late \u201960s through the mid-\u201970s. It evol\u00adved into one of the Dead\u2019s most explo\u00adsi\u00adve impro\u00advi\u00adsa\u00adtio\u00adnal vehic\u00adles, dri\u00adven by Phil Lesh\u2019s ico\u00adnic \u201cbass bomb\u201d intros and pro\u00adne to spi\u00adra\u00adling into dis\u00adso\u00adnant ecsta\u00adsy befo\u00adre snap\u00adping back into form. Grossmann\u2019s ver\u00adsi\u00adon is ele\u00admen\u00adtal, start\u00ading from a sub\u00adter\u00adra\u00adne\u00adan pul\u00adse and buil\u00adding upward through free-time swirl and modal ascent. You can hear how much this band trusts the music to reve\u00adal its\u00adelf. Tyner\u2019s shadow is here too, in the way the rhythm builds from open fifths and sta\u00adcked har\u00admo\u00adnies into full-spec\u00adtrum lift-off. The Dead\u2019s ori\u00adgi\u00adnal ver\u00adsi\u00adons often flared into cha\u00ados. Gross\u00admann refracts that ener\u00adgy into a spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal jazz exploration\u2014splintered sun\u00adlight through a modal prism.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

And the Band Keeps Play\u00ading On<\/span><\/strong>
\nIt would be easy to pre\u00adsent this as a con\u00adcept album. Tyner meets the Dead. Jazz meets jam. Two cul\u00adtures, one fil\u00adter. But that\u2019s not what\u2019s hap\u00adpe\u00adning here.<\/span><\/strong>
\nGross\u00admann isn\u2019t making a point. She\u2019s making music.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHer approach is neither fusi\u00adon nor homage, trans\u00adforming Tyner\u2019s spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal solem\u00adni\u00adty and the Dead\u2019s cos\u00admic loo\u00adsen\u00adess from con\u00adtra\u00addic\u00adto\u00adry to com\u00adple\u00admen\u00adta\u00adry. Muriel\u2019s \u201cfil\u00adter\u201d isn\u2019t one of sub\u00adtrac\u00adtion or rem\u00adoval, but of res\u00adha\u00adping, like alte\u00adring a pho\u00adto\u00adgraph with color and light, until the sub\u00adject remains but the mood and mea\u00adning shift.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As the Dead mark their 60th anni\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adry in 2025 and the Col\u00adtra\u00adne cen\u00adten\u00adni\u00adal approa\u00adches in 2026, this album reminds us that their music isn\u2019t a relic to be cele\u00adbra\u00adted once a cen\u00adtu\u00adry, but a living current\u2014one that still speaks, ins\u00adtructs, and car\u00adri\u00ades the spi\u00adrit forward.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The fas\u00adter we go, the roun\u00adder we get.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Liner Notes by SYD<\/span> SCHWARTZ<\/span>, @jazzandcoffee<\/em> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u21d0<\/a><\/span> back to shop page <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Fas\u00adter We Go, the Roun\u00adder We Get  Dead Recko\u00adning, Modal Rou\u00adtes At first glan\u00adce, the idea that McCoy Tyner and the Gra\u00adteful Dead might share musi\u00adcal DNA<\/span> seems like a stretch. One built frame\u00adworks to sup\u00adport Coltrane\u2019s spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal flights\u2014rewriting the jazz harm\u00ado\u00adny play\u00adbook while tur\u00adning chords into fle\u00adxi\u00adble archi\u00adtec\u00adtu\u00adre. The others were a San Fran\u00adcis\u00adco \u2026 ABOUT<\/span> THIS<\/span> ALBUM<\/span> \u2014 MG<\/span> \u2014 PLAYS<\/span> THE<\/span> MUSIC<\/span> OF<\/span> McCOY TYNER<\/span> AND<\/span> GRATEFUL<\/span> DEAD<\/span><\/span> weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5966"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5973,"href":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5966\/revisions\/5973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murielgrossmann.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}