Focal Point is a 1976 album by jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 pianist

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 McCoy Tyner

McCoy Tyner

McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...

, his tenth to be released on the Milestone

Milestone Records

Milestone Records is a United States based jazz record label, founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz in New York City. The company was incorporated into Fantasy Records in 1972, since then it has been used for reissues as well as for new recordings....

 label. It was recorded in August 1976 and features performances by Tyner with Charles Fambrough

Charles Fambrough

Charles Fambrough was a Jazz bassist, composer and record producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Fambrough was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers during the early 1980s...

 and Eric Gravatt

Eric Gravatt

Eric Kamau Grávátt is a jazz drummer who has played with McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Weather Report, and others.-Discography:With Julian Priester*Love, Love...

. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow

Scott Yanow

Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...

 states "Because virtually all of McCoy Tyner's records are superior examples of modal-oriented jazz, this gem is merely an above-average effort".

Track listing

1. "Mes Trois Fils" - 7:56
2. "Parody" - 6:55
3. "Indo-Serenade" - 5:35
4. "Mode for Dulcimer" - 8:59
5. "Departure" - 5:58
6. "Theme for Nana" - 5:14

All compositions by McCoy Tyner

• Recorded at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA, August 4–7, 1976

Personnel

• McCoy Tyner
  McCoy Tyner
  McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...
  
  : piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  , dulcimer
  Hammered dulcimer
  The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
  
   (track 4)
• Joe Ford: alto saxophone
  Alto saxophone
  The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
  
  , soprano saxophone
  Soprano saxophone
  The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
  
  , flute
  Flute
  The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
  
  
• Gary Bartz
  Gary Bartz
  Gary Bartz is an American alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist.Bartz graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and The Juilliard School...
  
  : alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet
  Clarinet
  The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
  
  
• Ron Bridgewater: tenor saxophone
  Tenor saxophone
  The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
  
  , soprano saxophone
• Charles Fambrough
  Charles Fambrough
  Charles Fambrough was a Jazz bassist, composer and record producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Fambrough was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers during the early 1980s...
  
  : bass
• Eric Gravatt
  Eric Gravatt
  Eric Kamau Grávátt is a jazz drummer who has played with McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Weather Report, and others.-Discography:With Julian Priester*Love, Love...
  
  : drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Guilherme Franco
  Guilherme Franco
  Guilherme Franco was born November 25 1946 in São Paulo, Brazil. He is a percussionist in the jazz and World fusion music genres.Guilherme Franco has recorded on the albums of many jazz performers such as McCoy Tyner, Lonnie Liston Smith and Woody Shaw...
  
  : conga
  Conga
  The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
  
  , tabla
  Tabla
  The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
  
  , percussion