Have you heard? (OH FUCK ME LYLE MAYS HAS GONE DEAD)

[Twit 2]

2 days ago as well, and only just found out!

In my first year of uni I got massively into the Pat Metheny Group and rinsed through every album. I particularly love First Circle, Letter from Home and Still Life Talking, a trio of phenomenal jazz/fusion/worldbeat albums. I urge everyone to (re)listen to those; they're just perfect. Anyway, Mays was a huge part of that sound and this a truly sad time for jazz fans.

Check out this:

https://youtu.be/ppA9p6Rboqw

[purlieu]

The title track to Mays and Metheny's collaborative album As Wichita Falls, So Falls Wichita Falls is phenomenal, up there with my all-time favourite pieces of music.
Here for Spotify users.

I had no idea he'd died - surprised ECM haven't posted anything about it on their social media. Only 66, too. RIP to a tremendous musician.

[Twit 2]

Yes, AFWSFWF is as good as any ambient album. Perfect 'stare out of a public transport window at the rain' music.

[purlieu]

The way the dramatic opening theme appears again about 12 minutes into the title track is a real goosebumps moment for me. I find some of the Pat Metheny Band stuff a bit too 'smooth' for my taste, although I do really enjoy some tracks on Watercolors, so I should probably give the catalogue more of an explore.

[Twit 2]

This is gorgeous:

https://youtu.be/rSdhJEzsjr0

This one's a classic, too:

https://youtu.be/908kjmbjABI

[wosl]

This is a shock.  Love his playing on the earlier Metheny stuff, and just love the early ECM Metheny group full stop - a great group on a great record label making some wonderful music, now exuberant, now reflective.  Watercolors and Pat Metheny Group are terrific, as is Travels, a great live album.  The two Mays' solo albums I've heard (I think the debut and the follow-up) don't quite sparkle as much, but both have some great moments on them.  He did a lot to shape that early PMG sound.  RIP.

[Non Stop Dancer]

I literally don't know who this is.

[wosl]

Well, you've got the joy of discovering some great music to come, then (unless you like Metheny already, but haven't been able to commit the names of his sidemen to memory).

[Better Midlands]

Can't have a Pat Metheny thread with out posting https://youtu.be/e4JVz5dsHpY sampled by The Orb.

Nice bit of 80s Metheny https://youtu.be/PEt0buFFYXE

[Non Stop Dancer]

Well, you've got the joy of discovering some great music to come, then (unless you like Metheny already, but haven't been able to commit the names of his sidemen to memory).

Sorry, I was deliberately being a dick to prove a point in another thread.

[purlieu]

Five days after Lyle Mays died, de facto in-house drummer for ECM, Jon Christensen died. The two never played on a record together, but were both instrumental in helping shape the sound of the label.

I suppose with a label which has had a roster of regular musicians for 50 years it's inevitable that many will die - I can't believe it's 18 months since Tomasz Stanko died - but these two have really affected me.