McCoy Tyner was born in Philadelphia in December 11, 1938. Tyner began to study piano formally at age 13, later studying at the Granoff School of Music. Tyner first met John Coltrane in 1955. The two stayed in contact through the balance of the decade, occasionally working together around Philadelphia.
Although Coltrane wanted Tyner to join him when he left Davis, Tyner went with the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet first in 1959. After Coltrane left Davis in April, 1960, he first used pianist Steve Kuhn, but within six weeks Tyner was a member of the Coltrane Quartet. Tyner recorded regularly for Impulse under his own name during the 5 1/2 years he spent in the classic John Coltrane Quartet. His work during this period as soloist and accompanist had a major influence on his contemporaries.
After leaving Coltrane late in 1965, Tyner freelanced for a while recording for Blue Note. Following several lean years his career took an upswing with the release (on Milestone) of Sahara in 1972. He performed regularly during the 1970’s and 1980’s with quintets and sextets featuring saxophonists George Adams, John Ford, Gary Bartz, and violinist John Blake, and is still quite active as a soloist and leader of a trio.