The Music of Lyle Mays: Compositions, Transcriptions and Musical Transformations: Sheet Music Paperback – June 24, 2021

The book contains two songs from Lyle Mays when he was in the Pat Metheny Group (Ozark and Yolanda) and the remaining songs in the collection cover his first two solo albums and roughly half of the remaining songs appear on a live album. There must be at least one album I don't have in my collection -- coming to this late in the game, but half of the remaining songs are on a solo album I have.This is more like an actual orchestral score than a piano transcription. Some people have made genuine attempts and piano transcriptions, so not everything is a disappointment like some of the "music"I used to buy from rock and jazz bands, but the piano has limitations, and Mays seems to have recognized that.Personally, I like what was done, because it shows what the composer actually had in mind and doesn't try to deliver an unconvincing "piano rendition" that tends to obfuscate that understanding. However, that means that one has to interpret the work. Another good point, in my opinion, is the "score" leaves a lot of room for the musician to find his/her own sense of the soul of the song. The chords are there to help the musician quickly get the sense of the harmonic directions, so a musician can explore it and find his/her own voice in it, while, at the same time, interpreting it in a way that respects Mays' intentions.One thing that I never appreciated until I examined the way these scores were written was the fact that Mays thought a lot more modern in his use of chords and motions of sound than I had recognized. All of the scores are written as though in the key of C but he tends to move freely from key to key. So one moment, you will be wrestling with a shifting landscape of flats and suddenly, you'll run into waves of in a moving sea of sharps. As one trained in classical music composition, I can appreciate why he did this. It will take some work to get some of this into my fingers, but I have a better feeling and understanding of how Mays was thinking. I think seeing the score gives a better sense of the depth of the work, too. Additionally, after many of the songs, there is a brief comment from Mays and the transcriber about the mindset of the work, what the composer was thinking, etc.I did come to appreciate Lyle Mays' work more after going through some of this; about half, though some of it not so successfully.

Pat Metheny, explaining in the Appendix to his Songbook why some tunes were not included, wrote: “Then there are some of the pieces that are credited to Metheny/Mays that are so overwhelmingly Lyle’s tunes that I feel that they will be more appropriately placed in what is the sure eventuality of a songbook of Lyle’s music in the future.” Written in 2000, all Mays’s fans could have been forgiven for giving up hope that such a songbook would ever see the light of day – particularly when the sad news of his too-too early death came in February 2020. Lyle seemed to have moved on. What was not known to us, however, was that Lyle Mays had been working for several years with Pierre Piscitelli in a book devoted to Lyle’s compositions, including those from his solo recordings as well as some from the Metheny/Mays oeuvre (the story, told in the book, is interesting in itself). Sadly, Lyle never saw the finished product, but fortunately for us, it was nearly finished before his death.The book is written for C instruments, in a multi-staff format. If you are like I am and do not have the chops in any instrument to attempt these pieces, there is still a lot of enjoyment in following the transcriptions and written compositions while listening to the music. There is also quite a bit of text from Lyle describing his thoughts on compositions, creativity, and, heck, even Lego. A must for Lyle’s fans, and congratulations (and thanks!) to Pierre for doing this.

Looking beyond the author/editor's extraordinary skill in transcribing these pieces with such care and attention to detail, one marvels at the quality of his informative notes and heartfelt introductory essays, especially coming as they are from such a young writer. Pierre's dedication to preserving the legacy of Lyle Mays as a composer, along with his evident affection and admiration for Mr. Mays as a person, are touching, and clearly drove this project to be as impressive as it is. The result is a monumental, definitive testament to not just Lyle Mays's compositional skill and creativity but to his humanity and philosophical approach to music and life. This book is naturally for anyone who has been a fan of Lyle Mays, but additionally -- and perhaps even more -- for anyone who wants to learn more about the work of this recently lost master.

What's not to love about Lyle Mays' music. The precise structure and harmonies are challenging to say the least. Mr. Piscitelli has done the difficult work so we don't have to. This is a lovely volume and a great homage to Lyle Mays' work. Enjoy!

One can tell immediately that this collection is a labor of love and an expression of deep respect for Mays’ music. Everything’s there, notes, complex rhythms, chord notation, etc… Reading through these pieces, I could also tell how musically discerning and accurate Piscitelli’s ears are, and how deep his understanding of Mays’ music is. An added bonus is a very well-written account of his own background and his discovery of Mays’ playing and music, their eventual encounter and the devastating effect Lyle’s passing had in him. This book is a gem and I will keep returning to it for my own guilty pleasure.

I thought this was just a piano book, but it's the actual compositions with parts for other instruments. It wasn't useful for me so I returned it. I'd love to have a book of piano transcriptions since I love Lyle Mays' style.

Excellent transcriptions of previously unavailable material from a masterful composer.Mr. Piscatelli has done the musical world an enormous favor, first in transcribing (quite accurately) and then actually publishing several highlight pieces of Lyle Mays, a personal hero of mine.My only quibble - I want it ALL! Get back to work, Pierre!