I've posted this so many times over the years...it only grows more poignant...perhaps currently reaching a new apex...
Every picture has it's shadows And it has some source of light Blindness, blindness and sight The perils of benefactors The blessings of parasites Blindness, blindness and sight Threatened by all things Devil of cruelty Drawn to all things Devil of delight Mythical devil of the ever-present laws Governing blindness, blindness and sight Suntans in reservation dining rooms Pale miners in their lantern rays Night, night and day Hostage smiles on presidents Freedom scribbled in the subway It's like night, night and day Threatened by all things God of cruelty Drawn to all things God of delight Mythical God of the everlasting laws Governing day, day and night Critics of all expression Judges in black and white Saying it's wrong, saying it's right Compelled by prescribed standards Or some ideals we fight For wrong, wrong and right Threatened by all things Man of cruelty, mark of Cain Drawn to all things Man of delight, born again, born again Man of the laws, the ever broken laws Governing wrong, wrong and right Governing wrong, wrong and right Wrong and right
Yes, Lyle Mays.. I think of him as the greatest pianist of our lifetime.. in the same class as many, Keith Jarrett comes to mind, but coupled with Pat's guitar and their use of voice in their composition, Lyle's work evokes so many emotions..
And, to me, piano has a harder time exciting emotions.. the artist must really get it because their tools are so limited. They have the tones, each note, but unlike the guitar with all the bends and different ways to strike a string the piano makes the musician get the same response with tonal structure alone.. and for me, as a guitar player I am in awe of a pianist that can really grab my spirit's attention. In the old days.. Nicky Hopkins could do it. The brief time he played with Jerry Garcia being a great example if his genius..
But over all, Lyle's lifetime of work stands alone in that rarified space.. I feel blessed to have lived in the same time as he.. his passing was a phenomenal loss to us all.
Date: June 20, 2024 at 13:31:27 From: shadow , [DNS_Address] Subject: Re: First Circle
Never be another like him!
Agreed, whole different energy has to go into expressing through keys than through strings...and not everyone nails it... ;)
Took a gander and it must've been prior to November of 2023, cuz that's as far as this board's visual goes back, I posted a great version of First Circle by Pat Metheny & The Metropole Orchestra, at the North Sea Jazz Festival of '03, with Hans Vroomans on the piano... He's not Lyle, but it was perfectly well done... ;) Will post that below... ;)
And will also re-share another masterful keyboard piece I'm reminded of now... ;)