Gould and Jazz: Lyle Mays

[Jost Ammon <Jost.Ammon@t-online.de>]

Gould's playing reminds me much of the playing of pianist Lyle Mays. Mays is
the only pianist to my knowledge with a similar attitude of rhythm and time,
but more importantly he is a rare example of a jazz pianist evoking an
orchestral sound, making all voices alive, btw not only on the piano but
also on the keybord. Safe to say that Bill Evans was one of Mays' most
important points of reference.

And then there is Mays' love for Bachlike counterpoint composition as proven
in pieces like Chorinho (Street Dreams) or the straight fugue Slink (on the
album "Lyle Mays"). And even more like Evans he often wanders between jazz
and contemporary music, making labels so hard to apply, the latest example
being his album Solo - improvisations for expanded piano.

Interestingly enough the fact that one of the scores with Gould's
handwritten notations was given to Mays by one of Gould's record engineers
(I don't remember who it was).

Jost