In this paper, I explore the early musical language of McCoy Tyner. Today, Tyner is recognized mostly for his use of quartal harmony and pentatonic scales despite having made recordings in his early career that reflect a more mainstream approach. In an effort to expand how Tyner is represented, I argue that Tyner's early style was characterized by a graceful balance of tradition and innovation, a masterful blend of bebop syntax with pentatonic melodies and quartal harmonies. The recordings that I analyze and discuss are: "Effendi," "Cousin Mary," and "Newport Romp." I transcribed and analyzed selected portions of these recordings in order to better understand his early musical language as a soloist from 1962 to 1963. A portion of this paper is focused on the early reception of Tyner, which acknowledged him as an accomplished mainstream player with a firm grasp of the jazz tradition. Ultimately, my analysis shows that Tyner's early style was a balance of tradition and innovation, incorporating bebop syntax, pentatonic melodies, and quartal harmonies.

Since the creation of the first all-state vocal jazz ensemble in 1978, similar ensembles have been established in roughly half of the United States. This paper contains historical summaries of the creation of all-state vocal jazz ensembles in nineteen of those states, primarily as recounted via interviews with those ensembles' founders. Each semi-structured interview was conducted over video conference or phone and lasted approximately one hour; resulting interview data was analyzed using qualitative methods. During the creation of each ensemble the respective founders needed to secure the support of a host organization, determine where and when to convene, and decide how to address auditions, sound reinforcement, rhythm sections, and funding. The diversity of solutions to these shared challenges reflects the diverse priorities of each founder as well as the unique conditions in which each all-state vocal jazz ensemble was established. However, several elements were common across these stories, including the influence of existing festivals and all-state ensembles, and tensions within the choral education community regarding the value of the vocal jazz idiom relative to traditional choirs, show choirs, and other vocal ensembles. In a few cases, established all-state vocal jazz ensembles were discontinued; these stories further illustrate the challenges such …