Lyle Mays

about

Lyle Mays (born Lyle David Mays on 27 November 1953 in Wausaukee, Wisconsin; died 10 February 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer best known as a 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 Awards. While growing up, Mays had four main interests: chess, mathematics, architecture and music. His parents were musically inclined – his mother was a pianist, his father was a guitarist – and he was able to study the piano with the help of instructor Rose Barron. She allowed Mays the opportunity to practice improvisation after the structured elements of the lesson were completed. At age 9 he played organ at a family member's wedding, and at age 14 he began to play organ in church. In summer camp he was introduced to important jazz artists. Bill Evans' album Live in Montreux and Miles Davis' album Filles de Kilimanjaro were important influences on his formation as a jazz musician. He graduated from the University of North Texas after attending the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He composed and arranged for the world-renowned One O'Clock Lab Band and was the composer and arranger of their highly regarded and Grammy nominated Lab 75 album. After leaving UNT, Mays toured with Woody Herman's group for approximately eight months. In 1974, he met Pat Metheny with whom he later founded the Pat Metheny Group. During that period he lived in New York City, so poor that he was "almos

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albums

Lyle Mays

Solo Improvisations for Expanded Piano

Street Dreams

Fictionary

Eberhard

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O-Zone Percussion Group: Bamba (La)

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Bedtime Beats - The Secret To Sleep: Tranquil Seductions One Jazz Beat At A Time

Solo: Improvisations for Expanded Piano

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As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls

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Intermediate Masterworks for Marimba

Solo - Improvisations for Expanded Piano

The Ludwigsburg Concert

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