Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938 – March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards.

Six months later, he joined the John Coltrane quartet, which included drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Steven Davis.

In late 1962 and the first half of 1963, Tyner was asked by producer Bob Thiele to record more straightforward jazz albums as a leader.

In a 2017 review, Marc Myers of JazzWax wrote, "the finest of these straightforward piano recordings was Nights of Ballads & Blues.

Tyner's playing is exciting and exceptional on all of the tracks... On the album, he exhibits a reserved elegance and tenderness that reveals the other side of his personality—a lover of melody and standards.

Linna suggests: "Tyner would eventually find a way of dealing with the two directions simultaneously, in a manner that was supportive and complementary yet original and slightly different from Coltrane's approach."

Coltrane's music was becoming much more atonal and free; he had also augmented his quartet with percussion players who threatened to drown out both Tyner and Jones.

[22] Unlike many jazz keyboardists of his generation, Tyner rarely used electronic keyboards or synthesizers.

During the '80s and '90s, Tyner performed in a trio including Avery Sharpe on bass[23] and Louis Hayes,[24] then Aaron Scott, on drums.

[31] Tyner is considered one of the most influential jazz pianists of the late 20th century, an honor he earned during and after his time with Coltrane.

[32] Tyner, who was left-handed, played with a low bass left hand and raised his arm high above the keyboard for an emphatic attack.

His melodic vocabulary was rich, ranging from raw blues to complex superimposed pentatonic scales; his approach to chord voicing (most characteristically by fourths) influenced contemporary jazz pianists, such as Chick Corea.

[34] Bob Weir, rhythm guitarist for the Grateful Dead, has cited Tyner as an influence on his playing.