US keyboard star wound up working in software
mainThe keyboard player Lyle Mays, who died yesterday at 66, was the driving force of the Pat Metheny Group, composing much of its music and winning no fewer than 11 Grammy awardss.
In a 2016 interview, Lyle confessed that he was now working in software. ‘The music business left us’ he said.
It’s more accurate to say that during Mays’ time with Pat Metheny, he and Metheny composed and arranged most of the group’s compositions. For example, on the group’s first LP, three of the compositions were written by Metheny alone and the other three were written with Mays.
So sad — a wonderful artist, both as performer and composer. On top of his collaboration with Pat Metheny, his solo albums showed the depth of his artistry. The track “September Fifteenth” on his album with Metheny (As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls) is truly a masterpiece as well as a classic.
Where but in America would an artist of that caliber be neglected?
Now this is a REAL loss to the world…unlike a certain Canadian pianist’s dropped piano!
Really sad, a great artist. RIP, Lyle…
I was hoping to one day soon take a lesson with Lyle, as I find myself intimately drawn to nearly everything he has played. Needless to say, I’m devastated, but at least we will always have his music. Rest in Peace, Lyle. You were one of a kind, my favorite keyboardist, always.
I hope this will not be seen as hyperbole, but Lyle Mays was up there with the best of any serious-music composer. His harmonic and structural approaches to composition show a master at work. He brought a refinement and sensibility to the genres he worked in – jazz/fusion and rock, primarily. I think I can honestly say that I have listened to at least one Mays/Metheny work every week for the last 30 years. There have been many loses in this business of music, but his hits hard. RIP, Lyle Mays. (And thank you to Slipped Disc for including his obit on the site.)