Jazz pianist extraordinaire McCoy Tyner transformed Alverno College's Pitman Auditorium into New York's Blue Note Saturday night in a performance that only a legend like Tyner could deliver.

And in the end, it was a legendary performance.

The Pitman was the third stop for Tyner on a national tour of mostly college campuses following a month of September dates at the Blue Note, and it was clear from the opening chords of his first number, "Mellow Mining," that the show was definitely ready for the road.

As the McCoy Tyner Trio, Tyner and his sidemen, the charismatic Charnett Moffett on bass and the flashy Eric Kamau Gravatt on drums, the band performed an 80-minute set -- replete with two encores including one after the houselights had already been turned on -- that left the audience exhilarated and ready for more.

To borrow a term from another genre, the McCoy Tyner Trio rocked.

Tyner could at one moment hold the audience's rapt attention, as he did in the opening of his song "Angelina," or he could get them ready to leap out of their seats as he built his numbers into thundering crescendos that could easily have drowned out the homecoming fireworks earlier in the evening.

There was little idle chit-chat from Tyner, who only identified numbers twice during the set, but no one was there for a lecture series. Resplendent in a white sport coat, Tyner came to play. Tyner could coax the most lush, delicate melodies out of the keyboard, but he was at his best when he delivered thundering chord progressions that were both ominous and beautiful at the same time.

While it's never a good idea to steal the show from the headliner, Moffett nearly did with both his playful stage presence and his amazing musicianship. He plays the bass as though it was full of electrical current, and when he uses the bow he can make the bass meow, howl and pulse with dual rhythms and pizzicatos using the bow to pluck the strings. It was Moffett who encouraged the crowd to clap, and it was Moffett who electrified the crowd with stunning solos that made you think that somewhere even the dour Charles Mingus was smiling.

Meanwhile, Gravatt delivered syncopated rhythms and showed he could turn over a new beat in a moment's notice.

Still, it was Tyner who was the star of the show, and at one point during a Tyner improvisation, Moffett and Gravatt simply watched him in amazement and waited almost breathlessly for their cues.

Sure, the word legend is one of the most abused terms in the English language this side of the words diva and awesome.

But Tyner, who began his career at age 17 with John Coltrane's quartet and was with Trane through classics like "A Love Supreme" and "My Favorite Things," is indeed a legend. At 68, with more than 50 years and 80 albums to show for an illustrious career, Tyner displayed no signs of the wear and tear of a long and distinguished career other than a hobbled gait as he walked to the piano. And Saturday night he more than lived up to his legendary status.

The "Alverno Presents" series is in its 47th year, but it would be hard to think that there were many better performances in its history than there was Saturday night.

When the incorrigible Moffett coaxed Tyner out for one more number after the houselights were on and the show appeared to be all over, what you heard underneath the great music was the sound of the house coming down.

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Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 12, 2006 at 4:29 p.m. (report)

Tony said: Bill Z. nails it again...Tyner is a special talent and made the evening one not soon forgotten...Alverno should be very proud of bringing this legend to our fair city....

Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 10, 2006 at 1:53 p.m. (report)

Mary Catherine said: A perfect concert for a Harvest Moon. Fireworks were set-off just prior to the concert to celebrate Alverno's expansion. Really elegant. What a lovely evening. Thank you, Alverno Presents

Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 9, 2006 at 9:56 a.m. (report)

Mike said: Alverno Presents gets it. This was the real deal, what a thrill to see not only a legend, but a legendary performance. So often, "legends" tour to conjure nostalgia, but rarely meet expectations of their glory years. Not so here. Tyner embodies the idea of practice makes perfect. I thought he was brilliant when he was with Coltrane; Coltrane could only wish he were this brilliant back then. Congrats again Alverno Presents, for putting Milwaukee back on the cultural map.