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Thread: RIP Lyle Mays

  1. #1
    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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  2. #2
    Casanova TCC's Avatar
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    Rest In Peace Maestro!

  3. #3
    All Things Must Pass spellbound's Avatar
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    No! That is heartbreaking. Rest in peace, Lyle.
    We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
    It won't be visible through the air
    And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973

  4. #4
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    Sad, sad news.

  5. #5
    Member hFx's Avatar
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    R.I.P. Lyle! Mr FourVoice...
    My Progressive Workshop at http://soundcloud.com/hfxx

  6. #6
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    Very sad to read this. Love those ECM albums with Metheny- particularly the duo-credited As Falls Wichita...

  7. #7
    Very sad to hear this. Another of the greats gone too soon. Mays remains one of my favorite keyboardists. Absolutely love his lengthy solo on San Lorenzo. He was also a brilliant composer.

  8. #8
    Member chalkpie's Avatar
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    R.I.P Lyle Mays

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...7d4_story.html

    Another legend gone. R.I.P. Lyle. Time for some Metheny this morning.
    If it isn't Krautrock, it's krap.

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    That makes you what you are" - Ian Anderson

  9. #9
    That sucks. Love his self-titled album and quite a few of his works with PM. RIP.
    If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
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  10. #10
    Oh, gosh, no! Just yesterday I was listening to "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls." I saw him with Pat as far back as the mid 1970s, in Evanston, IL at a small venue. He had his own unique style, always recognizable. I am so sorry to hear this.
    I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.

  11. #11
    This made me so sad to learn last night. He was one of my favorite piano players, so delicate and tasteful. His work with Metheny is unparalleled in my view, they had such a unique and amazing collaboration. I have the three solos albums I could locate, I guess there may be more floating around, but it didn't seem like he did a lot outside of his work with Metheny. His self titled is a classic. I read where he said he composed every day, but was working as a software developer?
    Bon voyage, Maestro.

  12. #12
    He was only two years older than me.
    NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!

  13. #13
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    I wore out the grooves on "Pat Metheny Group" and "American Garage" back in the day. I remember seeing them play at Princeton in the late 70's or very early 80's. A unique and creative artist.

  14. #14
    Member proggy_jazzer's Avatar
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    Lyle Mays' music has been a part of my life since American Garage came out in 1979. His collaborations with Metheny are without peer and his own compositions and playing place him solidly among the greatest who ever lived. In 1993, I was a faculty member at a small university in Wisconsin, and through a North Texas connection our director of jazz studies had with Mays, he was brought to be a guest artist and to do a trio concert with me and the faculty drummer. This was right around the time when Fictionary was released, and some of those compositions were on the set list. Needless to say, the two of us were NOT Marc Johnson and Jack DeJohnette. Yet, through our brief rehearsal period, the performance, and the hang afterward, Mays was nothing short of completely gracious and supportive. A consummate professional. Sharing the stage with him, especially in that context, was a once-in-a-lifetime honor and privilege, and a memory I've carried fondly ever since.

    RIP, and thank you for your music and your spirit.
    David
    Happy with what I have to be happy with.

  15. #15
    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by proggy_jazzer View Post
    Lyle Mays' music has been a part of my life since American Garage came out in 1979. His collaborations with Metheny are without peer and his own compositions and playing place him solidly among the greatest who ever lived. In 1993, I was a faculty member at a small university in Wisconsin, and through a North Texas connection our director of jazz studies had with Mays, he was brought to be a guest artist and to do a trio concert with me and the faculty drummer. This was right around the time when Fictionary was released, and some of those compositions were on the set list. Needless to say, the two of us were NOT Marc Johnson and Jack DeJohnette. Yet, through our brief rehearsal period, the performance, and the hang afterward, Mays was nothing short of completely gracious and supportive. A consummate professional. Sharing the stage with him, especially in that context, was a once-in-a-lifetime honor and privilege, and a memory I've carried fondly ever since.

    RIP, and thank you for your music and your spirit.

    Wow, great story! His talents will certainly be missed. He was such an amazing musician.
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  17. #17
    Member StarThrower's Avatar
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    So sad to be reading this news. Lyle and Pat made so much great music together. Condolences to his friends and family.

  18. #18
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    Another sad loss, that man had genius in his fingers.

    Sent from my GT-I8200N using Tapatalk

  19. #19
    Member nosebone's Avatar
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    Rest easy Lyle

    I'll never forget The First Circle gig in Boston 85
    no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone

  20. #20
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    Metheny and Mays were a great team for many years. 'San Lorenzo' is a great early example of their work. Another great showcase for Mays in particular is 'The Search' from American Garage.
    Last edited by JJ88; 02-12-2020 at 05:17 PM.

  21. #21
    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    Yikes, wasn't expecting this.

    I recall an interview with him where he talked about how he never fit into the jazz scene because he wasn't a jazz-minded player or writer. As I recall, he actually invoked prog (or maybe even Rick Wakeman) to describe how he thought more cinematically when he composed.

    To me he's one of the highest profile examples of how tragic it is that changes in the music biz (aka piracy) have pushed fantastic musicians away from it.

    RIP. I really need to get his solo albums...
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

  22. #22
    It might seem crass, because it's sort of one of PMG's "hits" or whatever you want to call it, but I always loved that solo that he did on Are You Going With Me. I mean, he really did a great faux harmonica impression on that track (and also when doing it live), in terms of getting the articulation and everything just exactly so. Always sounded amazing.

    On The Way Up tour, they had an actual harmonica player performing with them to recreate the harmonica bits on The Way Up (which they played in it's entirety for the first hour of the concert), so when it got to that bit in Are You Going With Me, the harmonica player and Lyle traded licks back and forth.
    Last edited by GuitarGeek; 02-11-2020 at 11:56 AM.

  23. #23
    Member No Pride's Avatar
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    So bummed out. He was an incredible musician and composer and one of my heroes. R.I.P. Lyle.

  24. #24
    Member dropforge's Avatar
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    Whoa. Had no idea he was ill. Another prog luminary gone. RIP.

  25. #25
    I first saw Lyle perform with the PMG in 1984. It was the First Circle tour. Up until that point I was a dyed-in-the-wool progger and my tastes were strictly of the rock variety. That show just blew me away, as well as blowing the doors wide open for my appreciation for jazz and fusion. Much as I loved so much of Pat’s music past that point, I always felt that there was something incomplete when he wasn’t joined by Lyle. Lyle brought a beauty and life to those compositions (and his own) that were simply unmatched.

    I never met him but I understand that he was lovely and humble.

    What a horrible loss for all of us.

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