Song for Bilbao, solo jazz guitar by Jake Reichbart, RIP Lyle Mays

[Jake Reichbart]

Welcome to my 503rd solo fingerstyle guitar video on YouTube, "Song for Bilbao" by the Pat Metheny Group off the Album Travels. This is a sad and unscheduled post (my regular day is Friday) on account of the passing of the great Lyle Mays. Lyle Mays was important to me, musically, in three main ways:

As a composer, he complemented Pat Metheny’s compositions perfectly, he is said to have written many of those unique orchestral bridges such as in Minuano. Of course, he had his own beautiful solo albums.

Then, as a jazz/rock/fusion keyboard player, he chartered his own unique path. Whereas most of his contemporaries opted for some combination of the Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, the Moog synthesizer and some of the other familiar sounds, Lyle Mays opted first and foremost for the acoustic piano, albeit colored with effects such as reverb and delay plus a series of synth sounds, strings and lead, completely and totally unique to him, preferring the Oberheim and Prophet, and programming them to produce otherworldly sounds, again, adding delay and reverb on top of them which completely created the sound of the PMG in 80s and 90s and are instantly recognizable and widely copied.

And lastly, as a jazz piano player, he was the first musician, as I was just starting to get interested in jazz guitar in the mid 80s, to demonstrate that just because the chart says to play C, you didn’t have to play a C. Especially if you are the harmony player, you can play exactly whatever the hell you want. Any chord or series of chords can make perfect sense with the only condition being that you get out of the sequence OK and every once in a while return to something that listener can recognize. The specific solo that first blew my mind in that sense is his solo on Song for Bilbao from the album Travels. This particular track, by the way, is not available on YouTube for some reason although there are some live versions. Anyway, the A section of this jam tune is just two chords, a C11 and F#Maj7#11. Over this C11 Area, he plays numerous such sequences/substitution and it works so damn well, and in the process making the bass player sound like a genius. Forget about his actual bebop improvisational style and beautiful touch. You taught me a lot and you will be missed.

[pingu]

Fantastic Jake,

I so dig the way when you're doing some single
note playing , you still keep the 'drum' rhythm feel going
with your thumb

incredible man , love your stuff

[Jake Reichbart]

Fantastic Jake,

I so dig the way when you're doing some single
note playing , you still keep the 'drum' rhythm feel going
with your thumb

incredible man , love your stuff

Thanks so much!

[lammie200]

As a guitar player of many years I can't begin to approach your mad skills, Jake. Great work and I couldn't agree with you more about what you wrote about Lyle Mays. Very much appreciate your insights.

[EarlBrother]

Really nice!As always wish i had the time and means fly back to my home state and catch you at the Earl.I would bring my lap top, tablet and i phone and hear you in stereo, around sound, panarama.Dont no why no one hires me in the IT field.Call it the birth of VR.Make it a documentary you could do the sound trac.Oh or we could swede it.as in that Jack Black movie that i dont remember the name of.Seriously though incredible playing thank you!!

[Jake Reichbart]

As a guitar player of many years I can't begin to approach your mad skills, Jake. Great work and I couldn't agree with you more about what you wrote about Lyle Mays. Very much appreciate your insights.

I appreciate it!

[Jake Reichbart]

Really nice!As always wish i had the time and means fly back to my home state and catch you at the Earl.I would bring my lap top, tablet and i phone and hear you in stereo, around sound, panarama.Dont no why no one hires me in the IT field.Call it the birth of VR.Make it a documentary you could do the sound trac.Oh or we could swede it.as in that Jack Black movie that i dont remember the name of.Seriously though incredible playing thank you!!

Thanks! :-)