McCoy Tyner - Sahara (1973 Japanese Milestone Vinyl LP)

Vinyl: EX
Sleeve: VG+
Obi: None

Our grading system explained here.
Photo is of the actual item.

McCoy Tyner - Sahara Vinyl LP - 1973 Japanese Milestone Release with Insert

McCoy Tyner's spiritual jazz masterpiece Sahara finds the former John Coltrane pianist exploring modal improvisation, African rhythms, and multi-instrumental textures across five compositions that balance fierce intensity with meditative calm. Recorded in January 1972 at Decca Studios in New York with saxophonist/flutist Sonny Fortune, bassist Calvin Hill, and drummer Alphonze Mouzon, the album showcases Tyner's evolution beyond his role in Coltrane's quartet toward a distinctive voice emphasising percussive piano attack, modal harmonies, and global musical influences. Released in Japan in 1973 by Victor Musical Industries under license from Milestone Records, this pressing includes an insert and captures Tyner at a creative peak.

The album's most distinctive feature is Tyner's multi-instrumental approach. Beyond his powerful piano work on four tracks, he plays koto (Japanese stringed instrument) on "Valley Of Life" and adds flute and percussion to the 18-minute title suite that occupies side two. This instrumental variety creates textural richness rare in piano trio formats, while Tyner's percussive piano style, featuring dense chordal clusters and thunderous left hand, drives the more intense passages. Sonny Fortune's work on soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, and flute adds melodic invention and spiritual searching, while the rhythm section of Hill and Mouzon provides both propulsion and flexibility, all three musicians contributing percussion to create dense polyrhythmic textures.

The 18-minute "Sahara" showcases Tyner's compositional ambitions, building from sparse beginnings through increasingly intense collective improvisation before returning to contemplative resolution.