Noggins vigorously nodded and tootsies tapped at the Neurosciences Institute. McCoy Tyner was in the house, and his infectious rhythms transformed the usually subdued Athenaeum jazz crowd into headbangers.

For many, it’s hard to resist Tyner’s percussive groove and thunderous chords. Accompanying John Coltrane for 15-to-20-minute versions of “My Favorite Things” back in the early 1960’s required Tyner to work in repetitive rhythms, at the time a novel approach to comping. Instead of the offbeat left-hand stabs of bop pianists, relying on the bass and drums to carry the rhythm, Tyner became an integral part in projecting the underlying beat for Coltrane’s group. That he still can ride a groove unlike most of his contemporaries and successors was adeptly illustrated Thursday evening.

Coltrane’s explorations of modal improvisation also transformed the bop-influenced Tyner. Unlike the introspective, cool voicings and comping of Bill Evans on the influential Kind of Blue, Tyner staked out an extroverted modal style which brought a strong blues sensibility and harmonies built on fourths and fifths into the vocabulary of jazz piano. Those qualities were in abundant display at his Trio’s concert. Their first number was a 12-bar-blues, but harmonized modally. His solos were awash in thick chords in both hands, not only in this number, but throughout the rest of his 9 o’clock set.

The tunes for the late set were mainly originals, although Tyner brought his roaring, pounding stylings to Ellington’s “In a Mellotone.” That Tyner isn’t limited to throbbing modal jazz was illustrated by his lone solo number, which ran the gamut from highly chromatic skittering in both hands to elaborately florid, out-of-tempo meanderings, arriving at the center of the solo in two walking-tempo stride choruses, interrupted briefly by more rapid passagework and trills that reminded this listener of Debussy’s Feux d’artifice.

While this was clearly McCoy Tyner’s show, valuable contributions were made by bassist Charnett Moffett and drummer Eric Kamau Gravatt. Moffett delighted in displaying virtuosic bass technique during his solos. His first solo was peppered with double slaps and loud, bell-like harmonics, and like most of his solos that evening, it maintained the strong rhythmic drive established by Tyner. Moffett kept the groove going throughout his solo, and yet managed to knock out a nice melody in the process. Moffett’s other solos indulged in very high plucked notes with a sensual vibrato (all played in tune—bravo!), rapid bowed triplets played in the stratosphere, beating the strings with the back of his bow, and the unexpected but delightful use of a wa-wa pedal (was there a touch of phase-shifter in there as well?) at the end of a solo, adding a real 1970’s funk sound to the number (a modal waltz). This last solo was particularly impressive, as Moffett performed with no assistance from the piano or drums.

As part of the rhythm section, Moffett laid down a solid foundation upon which Tyner could swing, but also was capable to elaborating on the musical textures when Tyner’s left hand temporarily (and frequently) assumed bass duties.

Given the interplay between Moffett and Tyner’s left hand, Gravatt was left with lots of space to fill out on his snares and toms, which he frequently took advantage of. When called upon to solo, Gravatt played musically enough, although as I’ve complained in the past I find drum solos boring, and nothing Gravatt played that set convinced me otherwise. There was one noteworthy section in the third number, an up-tempo tune, in which Gravatt engaged in a dialogue with Moffett (the latter playing fast bowed tremolos), which served as a wonderful transition back to the full trio.

The only possible complaint about this concert was that—unlike just about all the Athenaeum’s other jazz concerts—one had to buy separate tickets to hear both sets. Sure, they do this in New York and L.A., but it’s still pretty unusual in San Diego. The crowd was on their feet, demanding more about 80 minutes after the trio began, but the show was sadly over. It’s also worth noting that both sets were sold out.

For a copy of the program, click here.