[Kritavi]

I'm devastated to hear of the passing of Lyle Mays. One of the greatest musicians of my lifetime. For me, his work with Pat Metheny is the greatest musical collaboration of all time. They produced so many masterpieces. I can't think of any music as exhilarating as First Circle or Still Life Talking and I've played them for 30+ years. It has always been my favorite travel music and I've listened to them extensively while traveling in Myanmar and Thailand this year. Nothing ever made the road seem more beautiful then their music. Seeing them live on several occasions was just as good as it gets. Other bands did other things well but they just seemed to create the modern equivalent of the great symphonies. Funky , soulful and majestic works of art.

As Bob Moses, who played with both , once said to me, it was a musical marriage of a genius of improvisation and a genius of arranging.

Deep respect to Lyle and condolences to his family.

 

[10mfan]

Beautifully said.
Genius is an appropriate term here. No boundaries and just complete freedom in his playing.
I only got to see him once. It was unbelievable.
Close to home—-one of my favorites!

 

[Taragot]

So sorry to hear this! One of the greatest musicians of our time.

 

[Nefertiti]

So sorry to hear this. Seems like so many people have died in the last month. I used to listen to Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays all the time in high school! RIP Lyle Mays!

 

[JayeLID]

Saw him with Pat many a time....

 

[HeavyWeather77]

I'm extremely sad about this. I love his music very much and felt a connection with it that I didn't really realize until I heard the news yesterday. I'm pretty shocked. Genius indeed.

 

[rhythmisking]

Really sad to hear this. Pat Metheny's music was a huge influence on me, but specifically it was his work with Lyle Mays more than his later stuff that got into my soul.

 

[lostcircuits]

One of my favorites of all times, RIP!

 

[LateNiteSax]

Lyle was one of the all time greats no question. He was Metheny's Strayhorn.

 

[Kritavi]

Lyle was one of the all time greats no question. He was Metheny's Strayhorn.

Great way to put it and I had similar thoughts....

 

[Shooshie]

Lyle was finishing up at North Texas when I transferred there. I think he was done, but I still saw him around the campus now and then. He had just recorded the album with the One O'clock Lab Band which would be nominated for a Grammy, something NT still brags about in their PR, but the album was really Lyle. I heard him perform a few times and thought he was amazing. Subsequently I began to hear the albums he and Pat began producing, which were a whole different sound. You just wanted to sit back and let the sound wash over you.

I can still remember where I was when a friend pulled out the album “As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls.” (Hey, John Reeder, if you're out there) Guys like Lyle are as rare as Texas snowstorms in June, but a collaboration like Lyle's and Pat's is, well, it's the only one. It's one of a kind. They created something new and fresh.

Lyle will be appreciated long after we're gone. But he will be missed, too. My heart goes out to his loved ones, but especially to Pat Metheny. This must be terribly hard for him. I'm so sorry. But this is at least an apt moment to thank Pat and Lyle for about 45 years of inspiring music. You changed a lot of lives.

If you know of any of our 1970s North Texas brothers or sisters out there, please tell them about Lyle.

Shooshie