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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, composer, and member of the

Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977 by guitarist and composer Pat Metheny, along with his core collaborating member, keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays. Other long-standing members included bassist and producer Steve ...

. 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, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

Biography

While growing up in rural

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, 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, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

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 at 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. '' Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival'' and ''

Filles de Kilimanjaro ' ( French: ''Girls of Kilimanjaro'') is a studio album by the American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. It was recorded in June and September 1968 at Columbia 30th Street Studio in Manhattan, New York City, and released on Columbia Records in Decem ...

'' 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 university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

after transferring from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. He composed and arranged for the One O'Clock Lab Band 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 Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

's ''Thundering Herd'' (big band) 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 was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...

at the Wichita Jazz Festival and soon afterward they co-founded the

. Mays served as pianist, keyboardist, sound designer, and a core contributing composer for the group over its entire 33-year formation. The group had 23 Grammy nominations, winning the award 11 times. After the Pat Metheny Group’s long-form recording '' The Way Up'' in 2005, a brief 2008-2009 Japan tour, and the "Songbook Tour" in Europe 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 event at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...

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 also composed, performed, and recorded dramatic scores for children's audiobooks, such as ''East of the Sun, West of the Moon,'' with text narrated by

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow (; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

; ''Moses the Lawgiver,'' told by

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...

; ''The Lion and the Lamb,'' narrated by

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began her music career in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the mid-1980s. Grant has been referred to as "Honorific ...

and

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed Christopher Reeve on stage and screen, several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playin ...

; and '' The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher'' and '' Tale of Peter Rabbit'', read by Meryl Streep. In 1985, Metheny's and Mays's compositions were performed by the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago in the critically acclaimed production of '' Orphans'' by Lyle Kessler. Mays was regarded by both professional musicians and music fans as one of the most innovative and creative jazz pianists and keyboardists, but he considered himself more of a serious contemporary composer with an advanced approach to classical music, 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 (Talking)'' (Geffen, 1987), "Mindwalk" in 2009 for marimba player Nancy Zeltsman, 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 his work with Metheny, Mays formed his own 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 (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

(drums), and Peter Erskine (drums) and formed the Lyle Mays Quartet with Marc Johnson or Eric Hochberg (contrabass), Mark Walker (drums), and Bob Sheppard (saxophone). In 2015, Naxos Germany released a live double album ''The Ludwigsburg Concert'' from their 1993 appearance (with Johnson) there. One of Mays’ best-known compositions is "Close to Home," or "Mars" as it was initially called. He first recorded "Mars" in a 1977 session with the Dallas fusion band High Rise. The

performed the piece live between 1979 and 1982 with Metheny playing the main theme on guitar. Mays experimented widely with the introductory material, settling on the quintessential blend of synthesizer and piano for his eponymous album in 1986. Mays performed the piece on acoustic piano with his quartet as late as 1993. (See interactive timeline of his performances of "Close to Home" a
this link
) The R&B/funk group,

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

, recorded "Close to Home" as an interlude on their 1990 album ''

Heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

.'' The prominent Brazilian singer-songwriter, Milton Nascimento, combined Mays' composition with Portuguese lyrics by Luis Avellar to create "Quem é Você," which was recorded on his 1991 live album, ''O Planeta Blue Na Estrada Do Sol.'' Another Brazilian singer, Zizi Possi, sang "Quem é Você" for her 1994 album, ''Valsa Brasileira.'' Mays' Oberheim analog synthesizer and his voice counting the second hand of a clock at the recording session, "55..., 3..," which can be heard in the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

(at 14:56) of the title track of '' As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls'' (ECM, 1981), was used in commercials for Christian Dior's "Fahrenheit" from 1988 to 2016. Beyond his use of Oberheim synthesizers as a signature sound, Mays collaborated with electronic keyboard instrument makers Kurzweil and

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electr ...

to develop sounds and technologies. Since Mays was a young child, he was enthusiastic about architecture and constructed fantasy structures with

LEGO Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

bricks, keeping this passion through his later years. As an amateur architect, he designed his own house and home studio, and his sister Joan's house in

. Mays was particularly influenced by his fellow Wisconsinian, architect and designer

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

, the father of American modernism. Much as Wright realized the innovative integration of different sources in creating his unique landscapes, Mays consistently sought to bring a deep, intellectual and organic appreciation of structural forms to his soundscape design, jazz composition and performance, and software development projects.

Death and legacy

Mays died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at the age of 66 on February 10, 2020, "after a long battle with a recurring illness". Mays was posthumously awarded the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition 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," dedicated to the German double bassist and composer,

Eberhard Weber Eberhard Weber 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, minimalism and ambient music, and are regarded ...

Discography

As leader

* ''

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 Awar ...

'' ( Geffen, 1986) * '' Street Dreams'' (Geffen, 1988) * '' Fictionary'' (Geffen, 1993) * ''Solo: Improvisations for Expanded Piano'' (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, 2000) * ''The Ludwigsburg Concert'' (Jazzhaus, 2015) * ''Eberhard'' (self-released, 2021)

As co-leader

* '' As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls'' with Pat Metheny ( ECM, 1981)

As a member

One O'Clock Lab Band * ''Lab 74'' (NTSU Lab Jazz, 1974) * ''Lab 75'' (NTSU Lab Jazz, 1975)

* ''

'' (ECM, 1978) * '' American Garage'' (ECM, 1979) * '' Offramp'' (ECM, 1982) * '' Travels'' (ECM, 1983) * '' First Circle'' (ECM, 1984) * '' The Falcon and the Snowman'' ( EMI, 1985) * '' 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 Iesi, Italy; and Paris, Marseille, an ...

'' (Geffen, 1993) * '' We Live Here'' (Geffen, 1995) * '' Quartet'' (Geffen, 1996) * '' Imaginary Day'' (Warner Bros, 1997) * '' Speaking of Now'' (Warner Bros., 2002) * '' The Way Up'' ( Nonesuch, 2005)

As sideman

With

* '' Watercolors'' (ECM, 1977) * '' Secret Story'' (Geffen, 1992) With others * Phil Wilson & Rich Matteson, ''The Sound of the Wasp'' (ASI, 1975) * Steve Swallow, ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

'' (ECM, 1980) *

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, '' Shadows and Light'' (Asylum, 1980) *

, '' Later That Evening'' (ECM, 1982) * Bob Moses, ''When Elephants Dream of Music'' (Gramavision, 1983) *

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic music, electronic. He is also a prolific and acclaimed composer of Film ...

, ''

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 ...

'' (Windham Hill, 1985) * Pedro Aznar, ''Contemplacion'' (Interdisc, 1985) *

Betty Buckley Betty Buckley (born July 3, 1947)LuKanic, Steven A (1995). Film Actors Guide'. Los Angeles, CA: Lone Eagle Publishing. p. 55. . is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for an additional Ton ...

, ''Betty Buckley'' (Rizzoli, 1986) * Bobby McFerrin, '' Medicine Music'' (EMI, 1990) *

, ''Live in Warsaw'' (Storyville, 1991) * Paul McCandless, ''Premonition'' (Windham Hill, 1992) * Igor Butman, ''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 playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and wh ...

, ''East Coast West Coast'' (Private Music, 1994) * Nando Lauria, ''Points of View'' (Narada, 1994) * Noa, ''Noa'' (Geffen, 1994)

Film and audiobook 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)

Transcription book

*
The Music of Lyle Mays
Compositions, Transcriptions, and Musical Transformations - Transcribed and edited by Pierre J. Piscitelli, Lyle Mays (Author)'' (Independently published, 2021)

References

External links

Official website

{{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 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