![]() That album encompassed realms as disparate as classical/romantic influence taken to the brink of satire (“Au Lait”) and free blowing a la Ornette Coleman (“Offramp”). ![]() The evocative, panoramic synthesizer textures and open-ended compositional form of the title piece opened the door for a full-scale exploration of stylistic and technological materials, an endeavor, which led to the eclecticism of the Group’s Offramp in 1981. It was a 1980 duet with Metheny, As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, however, which finally revealed the daring breadth of Mays’ musical personality. “I get all the drama I need out of the acoustic piano.”Ī gospel tinge in Mays’ phrasing and harmonic sense, reminiscent of Keith Jarrett’s improvisations, helped to establish the roots-rock flavor of the following year’s American Garage-an influence which he attributes to the religious bent of the rather limited musical resources of his home town, Wausaukee, Wisconsin. “I don’t think any of the electric keyboard or synthesizer stuff I do is dramatic it’s mainly supportive,” he observed in his first Keyboard interview. Nonetheless, he always had at least one hand on the piano, and for his solos-having set the standard with the long dynamic gradient, which brings “San Lorenzo” to its joyous climax-Mays consistently chose to use the piano. From time to time, Mays introduced a melodic line with his Oberheim Four-Voice, or synthesized a rich backdrop while he comped behind Metheny’s solos. The early Group’s highlight was the blending of Mays’ acoustic piano and Metheny’s vibrant electric guitar, with glittering flashes of dynamic accentuation from Dan Gottlieb’s orchestral drumming. The music of this gifted quartet grafted the mellifluous Evans-influenced under-pinnings of Mays’ style onto a musical base that was neither jazz nor rock nor pop, but a spirited and pleasing amalgam of compatible elements from each, quite distinct from the Davis-inspired combustions of the fusion school. The first Pat Metheny Group album, in 1978, introduced Mays to a large audience. These concerns are reflected in an impressive body of music, through which Mays’ most powerful asset-his fertile and uncompromising imagination-has moved steadily into the musical foreground. In the wide-ranging interview on the following pages, he comments on the relevance of bebop, religious music, and pop styles to his current work explains the relationship between the roles of performer and composer, and defends his use of drum machines, among other topics. There are a number of reasons why he stands out among the generation that came of age amid this wash of stylistic currents foremost among them is the sensitivity with which he incorporates the directions of that time into a coherent, yet individual, whole. Ten years later, Mays is emerging as virtually the only young player to tackle the full extent of bop’s aftermath. The time was right but right for what? In retrospect, the answer is clear. Clearly a synthesis was in order, but it would take a player of enormous facility, taste, and integrity, one with an uncommon appreciation for the diversity of contemporary music as well as a great respect for the jazz tradition, to till the common ground through which these paths were cut. So dominant were these tendencies that younger players seemed bound to toe the line of one musical dogma or another. There were many paths, but they led in many directions. On the other side of the fence, jazz influences were creeping into popular music through the work of such players as Donald Fagen. Meanwhile, Joe Zawinul espoused his pancultural perspective, and fellow Miles Davis alumnae Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock had embraced their mentor’s rock rhythms and electronic impetus with a vengeance. In a more traditional vein, Oscar Peterson’s two-fisted interpretations of standards contrasted with the more reflective attitude of Bill Evans. ![]() Keith Jarrett was laying a foundation of diatonic chord-structures on the hallowed ground of solo piano improvisation, but in doing so he renounced electric instruments. Coltrane’s modal intensity lived on in the massive stacked fourths of McCoy Tyner, while Cecil Taylor’s gestural fury continued to push the boundaries of the avant-garde. The bebop revolution had spanned several major schools, represented by a number of great players. There was a moment during the mid-70s when stylistic tensions threatened to demolish the edifice of jazz keyboard playing. LYLE MAYS AT THE HORIZONS OF JAZZ WITH & WITHOUT PAT METHENY
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