McCoy Tyner: Passion Dance

This is McCoy Tyner's hit song, and it was difficult to imagine any other version than the original on his The Real McCoy Blue Note album. Indeed, the big band is not really used at its maximum potential here. The piano opens solely with bass and drums. Then the rest of the band plays a barely harmonized melody and riffs of little interest during the long piano solo. Of course Tyner is his own titanic self, but John Stubblefield's tenor solo won't make you forget Joe Henderson on the original combo version. What remains of this big band trial, then, is volume, vigor, but definitely less passion.