Lyle Mays – S.T.

Lyle Mays’ self-titled debut album followed a string of excellent collaborations with ECM mainstays Pat Metheny, Eberhard Weber, Steve Swallow, and John Abercrombie, as well as Windham Hill’s Mark Isham. While not as well known, Mays was a crucial part of the Pat Metheny Group and composed and arranged nearly all of the group’s music alongside Metheny. Mays’ first solo departure from the group includes gorgeous acoustic piano solos à la Keith Jarrett that float alongside his delicate and world building synthesizer work. Interestingly, the album was not released on ECM and instead appeared on David Geffens’ label which had just released John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Elton John, and Donna Summer albums a few years prior… Rest in peace Lyle Mays (2020).

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