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RIP Lyle Mays


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Yeah very sad. What a deep and connected musician. I knew Lyle for a minute in the late 70's when we were both at North Texas. I was a trombone major just starting out on piano and took private lessons from him for a semester or a summer or something. A very kind soul even then. I didn't realize we were so close in age. Rip In Peace, Lyle.
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He really was a Genius, with a capital G. Aside from music, he also pursued interests in architecture and software development. Here he provides timestamp-to-timestamp commentary on his own TedX performance.

 

http://jazzonline.com/blogs/the-most-intriguing-performance-in-jazz-2011.html

 

"The first notes you hear are chosen by one of my apps that mapped the calculus equations that describe the motion of the double pendulum to an accompaniment part played by synths. I wanted to use nonlinear dynamics as a starting point to illustrate the deep connections between math and music and to make a point about what we call organic."

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I saw the Pat Metheny Group around 88 - 89 at the Orpheus Theather while I was at Berklee College Of Music in Boston.

The band came out marching on to the stage like a marching band. I believe Lyle was teaching in the area around this time. On of my friends was having a band rehearsal in a room at Berklee. The door to the room had a tiny window. During the rehearsal one guy in the band noticed a dude looking through that tiny window for a while. He said I wonder what that dude wants? My friend said don"t mind him that"s 'only' my piano teacher Lyle Mays!

Never forgot that story. Obviously a down to earth guy as well as a brilliant virtuoso. No doubt. Pat Metheny just came out with a new album and the pianist is excellent but didn"t sound quite like Lyle. Seemed strange to me. Know I understand why Lyle wasn"t on this album. Incredible bummer.

Just found out about an album he recorded in 2016, The Ludwigsburg Concert (Naxos, 2016). Check it out. So moving! He will be greatly missed!

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When I was about 14 or 15 and just getting into improvised music, a couple of slightly older guys who I played with took me to see the Metheny Group - I think this would have been the American Garage tour. I didn't know anything about the band at that point, and from where we were sitting or standing, Lyle was set up with his back to us and I actually thought for most of the concert that he was a woman because of his long hair. I have to laugh at my younger self now - but, after the first minute or so it didn't matter who or what he was, the music was amazing, transcendental even, for me. I spent the rest of high school and college listening obsessively to everything they put out - I used to go to sleep listening to As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, every night for a few years at least. Lyle's harmonic approach, and particularly his approach to synths and orchestration, were huge influences on me.

 

Near the end of college (which was in Cambridge, MA, near where Lyle was living at the time) I was walking past a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint one night near my dorm. I happened to look in and see this very familiar-looking guy playing a video game. I went in, and sure enough it was Lyle, playing Ms. Pac-Man! I was pretty shy but mustered up the courage to approach him (after he finished a level, of course.) He was as nice as could be, very generously bailed on his game and sat with me for a while, asked me questions about what I was studying, and seemed as down-to-earth and just plain human as everyone else has said. I think I asked him about studying with him which would have been a dream for me, but circumstances never quite aligned for it to happen - something I regret to this day.

 

Anyhow, it was a cool experience to meet one of my heroes like that, and something I will (obviously) never forget!

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I am a little bit curious as to what his health issue was, but perhaps it doesn't matter .

 

It was late 1977 or 78 when I heard the Pat Metheny Group when they opened for the Milestone All Stars ( Mc Coy Tyner, Sonny Rollins and Ron Carter ) in Portland.

 

They blew the headfliners off the stage that night . That's saying a lot based on the name recognition of the All Stars , but what made them stand out was their obvious TEAMWORK, and unique musical conception, which I give the original Pat Metheny Group a lot of credit for.

 

It was quite astonishing what the original Metheny Group had achieved in a relatively short amount of time.

 

So it doesn't seem like that long ago. There are many on this forum who are in the age range that Lyle Mays is in. All I can say is, take good care of yourself.

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RIP Lyle! "As Falls Wichita..." was my first exposure to Lyle, and his textures chords and vibe have influenced me from 1981 to this day.

 

He was never over-technical, concentrating more on taste and the perfection of understated improvisation, composition and orchestration.

 

For that I always aspired to achieve his sensibility with my own playing, although I never actually came close, but I enjoyed the effort, and still do.

 

It's hard to believe he is gone. I'll need to create a playlist of my favorites of his and keep it handy!

J a z z  P i a n o 8 8

--

Yamaha C7D

Montage8 | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven

K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3

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Just found out about an album he recorded in 2016, The Ludwigsburg Concert (Naxos, 2016). Check it out. So moving! He will be greatly missed!

 

It"s a stunning performance, everyone should check it out. But note that it"s from a concert Lyle played in 1993. Around 2015 someone brought it to his attention and they worked out a deal to release it. So glad they did!

 

Jerry

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RIP LM - I would have to say that Lyle's playing changed my musical life... I believe Lyle ( and Pat) are the same age

as I am .. so very relate-able to me on a number of intangible levels I guess ..... Caught him live once w/ PMG at Radio city years back..he was brilliant.. glad I did!

 CP-50, YC 73,  FP-80, PX5-S, NE-5d61, Kurzweil SP6, XK-3, CX-3, Hammond XK-3, Yamaha YUX Upright, '66 B3/Leslie 145/122

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There was a discussion a couple of months ago on the forum about Lyle Mays. At that time, I had offered my opinion on his enormous talent. Hearing of his passing is sad news indeed, but I find amazing comfort in the realization that his music will be with us forever, and I am blessed to have been able to listen to it, experience it for the past 4 decades, feel it move me, and appreciate what it has always been, which (in my opinion) is some of the most emotional and expressive music I have ever heard.

 

Lyle Mays truly spoke through his music, and that music was able to convey a thought, a feeling, an emotion, more than most words could. When I listen to Lyle play, I hear the beauty of life, as life should be.

 

Although Lyle spoke through his music, someone uploaded an audio recording of a master class Lyle did at UNT, and we get to hear some of his insights on music. [video:youtube]

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As I was searching for a recording of "It's for you" from AFWSFWF, I was reminded of this masterpiece, "Ozark".

 

The piano piece "Ozark".... It's no wonder that Pat, a couple of years earlier remarked that Lyle was the next Keith Jarrett

 

[video:youtube]

J a z z  P i a n o 8 8

--

Yamaha C7D

Montage8 | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven

K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3

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  • 5 months later...

I headed for his solo albums as soon as they came out...

he passed earlier in the year BTW:

.

Lyle Mays

American jazz pianist

Date of death: February 10, 2020

Place of death: Los Angeles, CA

 CP-50, YC 73,  FP-80, PX5-S, NE-5d61, Kurzweil SP6, XK-3, CX-3, Hammond XK-3, Yamaha YUX Upright, '66 B3/Leslie 145/122

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I just listened to this three times in a row, I hadn't heard it for years. Just incredible ! For me this is the PMG's greatest melody and for certain one of their greatest live performances. The interlude was written by Lyle and is very difficult top play. I used to play a big band arrangement by Bob Curnow of it for years at Musician's Institute in Hollywood. I really had to shed that part as there was no marimba. It was all on me.... :cry:

 

And the way he comes in with those Oberheim chords at the end of the interlude. Harmonically...jeez where does he come up with that ?! What a mind, what a loss ! :( And check out his piano comping and chords behind the melody around 5:55- 6:05 towards the end of the tune as it builds.. He plays some really cool altered stuff. Pat's solo ...no words.

 

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/W4HQEV4apHc

 

That section of Minuano 6/8 excites me every time - that marimba build up, then those stirring Oberheim chords! Big respect to you Mr. Ferris taking that on!

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This is one of the many songs that just kill me. You can hear Lyle's influence all over the writing and arrangement.

 

 

[video:youtube]

 

The grounding rhythm of most of the piece:

 

1-2-3

1-2

1-2-3

1-2

1-2

 

1-2-3

1-2-3

1-2

1-2

 

Accent all the 1s. (The clapping intro is all the 2s and 3s.)

 

If you beat out that fundamental rhythm during the songs til the end, you will feel like you"ve just climbed an impossible mountain. And it will be good!

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Since we are still paying tribute to Lyle Mays months after his passing (and we should continue to do so), I am thankful so many of the PMG performances were recorded and we can continue to enjoy these moments, years later. I suppose they knew this was a special moment in musical history that needed to be documented.

 

Here is one such moment. Lyle"s solo, along with Paul Wertico"s accompaniment. I have no words to express how this makes me feel.

 

[video:youtube]

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The grounding rhythm of most of the piece:

 

1-2-3

1-2

1-2-3

1-2

1-2

 

1-2-3

1-2-3

1-2

1-2

 

Accent all the 1s. (The clapping intro is all the 2s and 3s.)

 

If you beat out that fundamental rhythm during the songs til the end, you will feel like you"ve just climbed an impossible mountain. And it will be good!

 

How deep do you want to get into this? (Or maybe this is where you got the info for your post!):

 

http://stuartgreenbaum.com/downloads/files/%20First%20Circle-thesis.pdf

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In the late 80s I bought my first CD player, and gifted my vinyl copy of First Circle to my drummer, who then comes back with the question: what the hell kind of pattern is going on in First Circle? I couldn"t answer him then, but once I worked it out I would try to make sure that whenever I heard it I had some kind of hard surface in front of me (including a steering wheel) to beat out the continuo and stay with the performance.

 

I"ve read the treatise. When I get to Lyle"s counter-melodies I"m still too occupied by the continuo to follow well.

 

If this was set up as some kind of 'difficulty test" then I would ignore it. But the recording itself has a strange beauty that invites the listener inside.

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This seems like relevant news to share here.

 

ECM releases Pat Metheny albums as hi-res downloads.

Thank you for passing that along. I"ve downloaded them and listening in headphones is breathtaking!

I can pick out a lot of subtleties I had missed, especially in the comp guitar, piano/synth and vocal that had been somehow muddied in the original master.

 

These recordings are especially amazing given the constraints on time that ECM placed on the recording process. So organic and natural sounding with perfect rhythm placement. When you listen to the live version of Minuano that Dave Ferris posted you can hear that same perfect rhythmic placement (especially in the piano comping) and organic feel so it"s not surprising how that limitation on time in the ECM studio was not a barrier to achieving such magnificence.

J a z z  P i a n o 8 8

--

Yamaha C7D

Montage8 | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven

K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3

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  • 11 months later...

I'm still undecided on a purchase of the 13 minute track, but I've always wanted to hear the Grammy nominated LAB 75 recording, having heard about it from a friend that was at NTSU in '75. Until today, I thought the only way was to buy it on used vinyl, ~$50, and me without a turntable. As it turns out, it is streamable on the Lyle Mays store website. It is very unlike the usual college, Nestico-ish lab band arrangements.

 

'This was my attempt to link the tradition of Duke Ellington to James Brown.'

- LYLE

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