Lyle Mays
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Lyle David Mays (November 27, 1953 – February 10, 2020) was an American
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
pianist, composer, and member of the
Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977. The core members of the group were guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny; and keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays, who was in the group at its inception. Other long-standi ...
. Metheny and Mays composed and arranged nearly all of the group's music, for which Mays won eleven
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
.


Biography

While growing up in rural Wisconsin, Mays had a lot of curiosity but had to learn many things all by himself due to a lack of available resources and information. He had four main interests: chess, mathematics, architecture, and music. His mother Doris played piano and organ, and his father Cecil, a truck driver, taught himself to play guitar by ear. His teacher allowed him to practice
improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
after the structured elements of the lesson were completed. At the age of nine, he played the organ at a family member's wedding, and fourteen he began to play in church. During his senior year of high school, at summer national stage band camp in Normal, Illinois, he was introduced to jazz pianist
Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...
. ''
Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival ''Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival'' is a 1968 album by the American jazz pianist Bill Evans, recorded live at that year's Montreux Jazz Festival. The trio's performance on this album won them the 1969 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Al ...
'' and '' Filles de Kilimanjaro'' by Miles Davis (both recorded in 1968) were important influences. He attended the
University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
after transferring from the
University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UW–Eau Claire, UWEC or simply Eau Claire) is a public university in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's and master's degrees. UW–Eau Claire ...
. He composed and arranged for the
One O'Clock Lab Band One O'Clock Lab Band is an ensemble of the Jazz Studies division at the University of North Texas College of Music in Denton, Texas. Since the 1970s, the band's albums have received seven Grammy Award nominations, including two for ''Lab 2009''. ...
and was the composer and arranger for the Grammy Award-nominated album ''Lab 75''. After leaving the University of North Texas, Mays toured in the US and Europe with
Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...
's jazz big band, Thundering Herds, for approximately eight months. In 1975 he met
Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...
at the Wichita Jazz Festival and later founded the
Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977. The core members of the group were guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny; and keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays, who was in the group at its inception. Other long-standi ...
. Mays had an extraordinary career as a core musical architect and sound designer of the group for more than three decades. He won total 11 Grammy awards and was nominated 23 times. After the Pat Metheny Group’s long-form recording
The Way Up ''The Way Up'' is the eleventh and final studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 2005 and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2006. It is the last Pat Metheny album to feature long-time collaborator Lyle Ma ...
in 2005, and the unofficial Songbook Tour in Europe and Japan in 2010, Mays decided to retire from public music performance, although he did perform at the Western Michigan University Jazz Club in 2010 and at a
Ted Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...
event at
Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
in 2011 with his own groups. In an interview with ''JAZZIZ'' magazine in 2016, Mays said he had been working as a software development manager because of changes in the music industry.


Work

Mays composed, orchestrated, and arranged as a core member of the Pat Metheny Group, playing piano, organ, synthesizers, and occasionally trumpet, accordion, agogô bells, autoharp, toy xylophone, and electric guitar. He composed and recorded children's audiobooks, such as ''East of the Sun, West of the Moon,'' ''Moses the Lawgiver,'' ''The Lion and the Lamb,'' ''The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher,'' and ''Tale of Peter Rabbit'' with text read by
Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
. In 1985, Metheny's and Mays's compositions were performed by the
Steppenwolf Theater Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on H ...
in Chicago in the critically-acclaimed production of ''
Orphans An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...
'' by
Lyle Kessler Lyle Kessler is an American playwright, screenwriter and actor, best known internationally for his 1983 play '' Orphans''. Career Actor Born in Philadelphia, Kessler began his career as an actor. His first professional appearance was in the Ph ...
. Lyle's Oberheim analog synth pad and his voice counting the second hand of a clock at the recording session, "55..., 3..," which can be heard from the bridge part of "''As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls (1981)''," was used for Christian Dior's Fahrenheit Cologne commercials for almost 30 years, from 1988 to 2016. He was regarded by both professional musicians and music fans as one of the most innovative and creative contemporary jazz pianists and keyboardists, but as a composer, he was even more serious about classical music in terms of advanced harmonic aesthetics and structural development through long forms. He composed several contemporary classical pieces, such as "Twelve Days in the Shadow of a Miracle", a piece for harp, flute, viola, and synthesizer recorded in 1996 by the Debussy Trio. Mays also composed “Distance” for Pat Metheny Group’s Grammy-winning and RIAA-certified Gold album, ''Still Life'' (1987, Geffen), "Mindwalk" in 2009 for renowned marimba player,
Nancy Zeltsman Nancy Zeltsman (born 1958) is an international marimba soloist who has taught at the Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music since 1993. Biography Zeltsman was born in 1958 in Morristown, New Jersey. In 1976, Zeltsman studied with Vi ...
, and previously "Somewhere in Maine" in 1988 for her duo with violinist Sharan Leventhal, Marimolin, and “Street Dreams 3” for his solo album, ''Street Dreams'' (Geffen, 1988) with top classical performers in New York City. Apart from the Metheny group, he recorded or performed in a trio with Marc Johnson (contrabass),
Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, ...
(drums), and
Peter Erskine Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the drum ...
(drums) and formed the Lyle Mays Quartet with Marc Johnson or Eric Hochberg (contrabass), Mark Walker (drums), and
Bob Sheppard Robert Leo Sheppard (October 20, 1910 – July 11, 2010) was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (1951–2007), and ...
(saxophone). Naxos Germany released the quartet’s live album ''The Ludwigsburg Concert'' recorded in 1993 and released in 2015. He collaborated with electronic keyboard instrument makers, Kurzweil and
Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they ...
, to develop their new sounds since he had great knowledge of both computer programming and music synthesis that he learned by himself. The renowned R&B/funk group,
Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...
, recorded Lyle's most beloved original composition from his first solo album, "Close to Home" for their 1990 album, ''
Heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...
'' as an interlude and he participated in the arranging and recording session for the piece. The prominent Brazilian singer-songwriter,
Milton Nascimento Milton Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has toured across the world. Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...
, also recorded a remake version of the same piece, "Quem é Você," with Portuguese lyrics for his 1991 album, ''O Planeta Blue Na Estrada Do Sol.'' Another Brazilian singer, Zizi Possi, sang "Quem é Você" for her 1994 album, ''Valsa Brasileira.'' Since Mays was a young child, he enthusiastically exhibited his architectural fantasies with LEGO bricks and kept the passion until his late years. As an amateur architect, he designed his own house, home studio, and his sister Joan's house in Wisconsin. Mays was particularly influenced by the legendary American architect, designer, the father of American modernism, and fellow Wisconsinian,
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
. Mays brought intellectual and organic architectural concepts in his music and sound design based on the innovative integration of many different sources to create a completely new soundscape as Wright achieved through his unique architectural landscape.


Death and legacy

Mays died in Los Angeles at the age of 66 on February 10, 2020 "after a long battle with a recurring illness". Mays was
posthumously awarded A posthumous award is granted after the recipient has died. Many prizes, medals, and awards can be granted posthumously. Australian actor Heath Ledger, for example, won many awards after his death in 2008. Military decorations, such as Hero of ...
the Grammy Award for
Best Instrumental Composition The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (including its previous names) has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of an original piece of music (not an adaptation), first released during the eligibility year. I ...
at the
64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...
in 2022 for his composition "Eberhard".


Discography


As leader/co-leader

* ''
As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls ''As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls'' is a collaborative album by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, released in 1981. The title makes reference to Wichita, Kansas, and Wichita Falls, Texas. The title track is just under 21 minutes. Throughout th ...
'' with Pat Metheny ( ECM, 1981) – recorded in 1980 * ''
Lyle Mays Lyle David Mays (November 27, 1953 – February 10, 2020) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and member of the Pat Metheny Group. Metheny and Mays composed and arranged nearly all of the group's music, for which Mays won eleven Grammy Awa ...
'' ( Geffen, 1986) – recorded in 1985 * ''Street Dreams'' (Geffen, 1988) * ''Fictionary'' (Geffen, 1993) – recorded in 1992 * ''Solo: Improvisations for Expanded Piano'' (
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, 2000) * ''The Ludwigsburg Concert'' (Jazzhaus, 2015) * ''Eberhard'' (Aubrey Johnson, BMI; Lyle Mays, BMI, 2021)


As member

One O'Clock Lab Band One O'Clock Lab Band is an ensemble of the Jazz Studies division at the University of North Texas College of Music in Denton, Texas. Since the 1970s, the band's albums have received seven Grammy Award nominations, including two for ''Lab 2009''. ...
* ''Lab 74'' (NTSU Lab Jazz, 1974) * ''Lab 75'' (NTSU Lab Jazz, 1975)
Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977. The core members of the group were guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny; and keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays, who was in the group at its inception. Other long-standi ...
* ''
Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977. The core members of the group were guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny; and keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays, who was in the group at its inception. Other long-standi ...
'' (ECM, 1978) * ''
American Garage ''American Garage'' is the second studio album by the Pat Metheny Group, released in 1979 on ECM Records. The album represented the most collaborative writing session between Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays up to that point in the band's history. Acc ...
'' (ECM, 1979) * ''
Offramp In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...
'' (ECM, 1982) – recorded in 1981 * '' Travels'' (ECM, 1983) – live recorded in 1982 * '' First Circle'' (ECM, 1984) * ''
The Falcon and the Snowman ''The Falcon and the Snowman'' is a 1985 American spy drama film directed by John Schlesinger. The screenplay by Steven Zaillian is based on the 1979 book ''The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage'' by Robert Lin ...
'' (
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
, 1985) – soundtrack recorded in 1984 * '' Still Life (Talking)'' (Geffen, 1987) * '' Letter from Home'' (Geffen, 1989) * ''
The Road to You ''The Road to You'' is the second live album by the Pat Metheny Group that won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance. The songs were recorded during concerts in Naples, Bari, Pescara, and Jesi, Italy; and Paris, Marseille, and ...
'' (Geffen, 1993) – live * ''
We Live Here ''We Live Here'' is the seventh studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 1996. Track listing Personnel * Pat Metheny – guitars, guitar synthesizer * Lyle Mays – piano, keyboards * ...
'' (Geffen, 1995) * ''
Quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...
'' (Geffen, 1996) * ''
Imaginary Day ''Imaginary Day'' is the ninth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 1997 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was strongly inspired by world music from Iran and Indonesia, and won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jaz ...
'' (Warner Bros, 1997) * ''
Speaking of Now ''Speaking of Now'' is the tenth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 2002 by Warner Bros. In 2003 the group was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. ''Speaking of Now'' marks the first appearances of ...
'' (Warner Bros., 2002) * ''
The Way Up ''The Way Up'' is the eleventh and final studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 2005 and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2006. It is the last Pat Metheny album to feature long-time collaborator Lyle Ma ...
'' (
Nonesuch __NOTOC__ Nonesuch may refer to: Plants * ''Lychnis chalcedonica'', a wildflower * ''Medicago lupulina'', a wildflower Places and structures *Nonesuch, Kentucky *Nonesuch Island, Bermuda *Nonesuch Mine, Michigan *Nonesuch Palace, mis-spelling of ...
, 2005)


As sideman

With
Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...
* ''
Watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
'' (ECM, 1977) * '' Secret Story'' (Geffen, 1992) With others * Phil Wilson &
Rich Matteson Rich A. Matteson, (born Richmond Albert Matteson, January 12, 1929, Forest Lake, Minnesota – June 24, 1993, Jacksonville, Florida) was an American jazz artist, collegiate music educator, international jazz clinician, big band leader, and jazz com ...
, ''The Sound of the Wasp'' (ASI, 1975) *
Steve Swallow Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar. ...
, ''
Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
'' (ECM, 1980) *
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
, '' Shadows and Light'' (Asylum, 1980) *
Eberhard Weber Eberhard Weber (born 22 January 1940, in Stuttgart, Germany) is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing. Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, m ...
, '' Later That Evening'' (ECM, 1982) *
Bob Moses Robert Moses (1888–1981) was an American city planner. Robert Moses may also refer to: * Bob Moses (activist) (1935–2021), American educator and civil rights activist * Bob Moses, American football player in the 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic * Bob M ...
, ''When Elephants Dream of Music'' (Gramavision, 1983) *
Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and film composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic. He is also a film composer, having worked on numerous films and ...
, ''
Film Music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
'' (Windham Hill, 1985) *
Pedro Aznar Pedro Aznar (born 23 July 1959) is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has a musical experience in jazz, Argentine folk and rock music and has a successful career as a solo artist. He is well known for giving rock songs a jazz-orient ...
, ''Contemplacion'' (Interdisc, 1985) * Betty Buckley, ''Betty Buckley'' (Rizzoli, 1986) *
Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...
, ''Medicine Music'' (EMI, 1990) *
Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...
, ''Live in Warsaw'' (Storyville 1991) *
Paul McCandless Paul Brownlee McCandless Jr. (born March 24, 1947) is an American multi-instrumentalist and founding member of the American jazz group Oregon. He is one of the few jazz oboists. He also plays bass clarinet, English horn, flute and soprano saxoph ...
, ''Premonition'' (Windham Hill, 1992) *
Igor Butman Igor Butman PAR is a Russian jazz saxophonist born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1961. Butman holds dual citizenship for both the US and Russian Federation. He is considered to be a virtuoso saxophonist, and a skilled bandleader. American saxop ...
, ''Falling Out'' (Impromptu, 1993) *
Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...
, ''East Coast West Coast'' (Private Music 1994) *
Nando Lauria Nando Lauria (born 11 May 1960) is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. Biography At the age of seven, Lauria picked up the violao (Brazilian acoustic guitar). He was raised in a musical family where his older brother played electric guitar in a b ...
, ''Points of View'' (Narada, 1994) * Noa, ''Noa'' (Geffen, 1994)


Film & Audio Book Scoring

* The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher & The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Rabbit Ears, 1988) * East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Short Video) (Rabbit Ears, 1991) * Moses the Lawgiver (Rabbit Ears, 1993) * Mustang: The Hidden Kingdom (TV Movie documentary, 1994) * The Lion and the Lamb (Short Animation) (Rabbit Ears, 1996)


References


External links


Official website''Jazziz'' magazine


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mays, Lyle 1953 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American musicians American jazz pianists American male jazz musicians American male pianists Jazz musicians from Wisconsin Musicians from Wisconsin Pat Metheny Group members People from Marinette County, Wisconsin University of North Texas College of Music alumni University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni