Customer Reviews

Solo Improvisations for Expanded Piano

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I've been wondering when I was going to hear Lyle Mays and his beautiful brand of music again. It has been quite a while since he's created music of his own. It appears he his been "wood shedding". The results are very nice. Solo Improvisations For Extended Piano paints impressionistic scenes with Lyle's acoustic and electric sounds. Sounds that may remind you of his earlier solo works as well as his strong influence in The Pat Metheny Group. I have always been fond of his playing. Having listened to him for the last 25 or 30 years! I do not think that anyone familiar with his aesthetic will be disappointed by this CD. I am hoping to hear from Lyle again and again.

I believe "Solo Improvisations For Expanded Piano" by Lyle Mays to be nothing short of a ground breaking masterpiece, and each time I listen the plot thickens.

What has really delighted me is Lyle's concept of orchestration: there are no overt references to conventional orchestral instruments -- all sounds are organically tied to the sound of the piano (in fact, the very notes of the orchestration are entirely derived from the notes of his original improvisations). All synth sounds, and the processed sampled "prepared" piano sounds (not in the sense of John Cage's prepared piano, but sometimes referring to Henry Cowell's string scrapes and reverberant clouds) seem to emanate from the initial piano performance. Often the synth sounds are extensions of the sustained piano notes, functioning as "pitched reverb." To be sure, this is territory Lyle has been exploring for years, but "Solo" represents a pinnacle of accomplishment.

Of course, none of this sonic palette would mean much if the initial piano performances weren't so magnificent. These are truly improvised compositions, with all the organic and cohesive formal integrity that good composition should have, and with deep melodic and harmonic inspiration.

Listening again last night it occurred to me that the title "Solo" can be taken two ways: obviously it was all done by one person, it's a solo performance, but also in that the resultant composite sound really is a singular voice, one instrument: the "expanded" piano.

This is such an apt description, because the synths/samples do not comprise a second discreet voice playing material other than what was played on the original piano track -- all counterlines, inner voices, etc. are born of the original piano performance -- and these sounds realize the implications of the sonic possibilities of that performance like sunlight glinting on water or the play of the aurora borealis. The piano has been expanded.

I hope people realize the depth and significance of Lyle's achievement, because I really think it's monumental. Lyle is such an essential element of the Pat Metheny Group world; in fact, there would be no PMG as we know it without Lyle.

This is Lyle's world, and it's profound.

A beautiful album. Subtle, atmospheric, introspetive. This one is for the headphones, folks. Lyle's subtle use of electronics embellishes each piece in such a way that if you are across the room you'll feel it but might not hear it. Not as rhythmic or propulsive as his earlier releases but as rich as his first and 3rd releases. This one is (Bill)"Evanesque" in approach. This one you will play through from beginning to end. Each piece different seamlessly segues to the next piece. This recording's good points won't hit you all at once, Lyle's a storyteller this time, so listen closely, it is an intriguing story.

This is my first listening/hearing of Lyle Mays and I am genuinely drawn to the lyricism and invention of his playing. Does anyone else hear the tonalities and sensibilities of Ravel and Debussy here? I look forward to many re-hearings of this disc and to learning Mays' vocabulary. He's my kinda guy!

I rarely write reviews of cds, but thought this one was interesting enough to spend the time to do it.

Take a look over the 28 other reviews and check out the stars that were given. Almost everyone gave this cd either 5 stars or 1 star. People either like this cd or hate it.

This cd shows a very advanced musician creating textures and melodies and atmospheres and moods at a very deep level. Another reviewer actually said that this sounds like a little kid playing on the family piano with one finger?!?! I have no idea what you're hearing (or not hearing).

This is a very special and unique cd. If you're expecting it to sound like the Pat Metheny Group, than yes, you'll be disappointed. But if you want to be taken someplace new, this disc will take you there.

The music is very beautiful, free improvisations, with ethereal sounds, wonderful colors. This is what a genius sounds like when given free reign.

There is often a tension between what an artist's own perception of his or her work is and how that work is received by the listener. This was the case, for me at least, with Lyle Mays's three solo efforts.

I remember reading an interview with Lyle in Keyboard magazine, right after "Street Dreams" came out, in which he expressed his supreme satisfaction with that album and said that his first, self-titled album was something just thrown together that he wasn't particularly satisfied with. Nothing could have come further from how I received the two albums against one another.

"Lyle Mays" has been one of my very favorite albums of all time since the day I was first exposed to it, and "Street Dreams" seemed less sincere and more fabricated by comparison. "Solo" taps again that rich vein that we haven't heard fully expressed since "Lyle Mays" - the beautiful, glassy piano textures, the ethereal backdrops of analog synth, the lyricism of a playing style that knows that it does not need to prove itself. To me, this is Mays at his best, and for those who preferred the arctic, "icy" sound over the urban, more Metheny-group-eqsue, this will be the album worth the wait of - what will it have been - 14 years?

While it is true that most of this was created spontaneously, it does not sound like it. It sounds more coherent than most of Keith Jarret's (I like him too) stuff. The subtle synth textures added later - taken from MIDI data from the original piano improvisations, really enhance the music. Lyle Mays is the greatest Jazz pianist/synth player alive IMO. This is a beautiful album. Not everybody gets it. That's OK - not all music reaches all people. I'm thankful for this album as I am all of Lyle's work. The audio blips online don't scratch the surface. Highly recommended to anyone who appreciates creative piano music.

The only thing that bothers me about Lyle's CD's are that they are too long in-between. This is an absolutely great CD. All the songs seem to flow one into the next, telling a story. It's pretty obvious that Lyle dug deep within himself for this CD. The acoustic piano is great by itself, but the added orchestrations put this CD over the top. Highly recommended!

Lyle functions best in the context of the Pat Metheny Group, and of his other album I only liked the first one, which (surprise) is the most similar in setup to the Group.

This Solo album has flashes of brilliance, but too much of it meanders without any point. If you're willing to take the time to listen to this many times, you might get something out of it, but it might be more effort than you're willing to give.

Old-timers might remember the trance one fell into from Bill Evans' "Peace Piece" from his "Everybody Digs Bill Evans" album, or Metheny's (the album was Mays' idea, I read somewhere) "As Falls Wichita..." album, but this latest effort by Lyle sure slows me down while driving. This genius improvises with the best of them, while maintaining the quality of a concert pianist. The album also has a high repeatabilty rating.