1972 marked his comeback; he signed a contract with Milestone Records, and recordings like Sahara featuring Azar Lawrence, Alphonze Mouzon, Juni Booth and Sonny Fortune made him popular.. The award winning album Enlightenment: Live at Montreux was probably their best recording.

As a member, he toured and recorded with The Milestone Jazzstars in 1978, featuring Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter and Al Foster. In 1980’s he led trio in various combinations.

For some time he led quintet including violinist John Blake and saxophonist Gary Bartz. For Columbia label he recorded with Phylis Hyman, first recording with a singer. In 1984 “The McCoy Tyner Big Band” was established, and McCoy recorded and composed both for big band and trio.

Tyner won his first Grammy award for the 1989 Impulse! recording A Tribute to John Coltrane. For a big band recording The Turning Point in 1992 he won second Grammy, and the third one came also for a big band on The Journey in 1994. In 1995 Tyner recorded Infinity for Impulse! with Michael Brecker, and was awarded with fourth Grammy.

The McCoy Tyner Big Band toured Europe in the fall of 1990 as a 14-piece big band.

"Well, I don’t have any regrets in my life. I think everything happens for a reason, and whether it’s pleasant or unpleasant, you know, it’s just one of those things. Whether or not we could have made a difference in terms of changing it, I don’t know. Possibly. I just think that things are meant to go the way that they go. Not that we don’t have an influence on our daily life; we do. But I think that I tried to travel this course as well as I could, and I tried to have a little fun and enjoyment along the way. Try to be as productive as possible."

McCoy Tyner