BILL MAYS
Genres: Post Bop, Third Stream, Classic Fusion • United States

Pianists, composer and arranger Bill Mays, born February 5, 1944, came from a musical family. In his northern California home, music was always present; his dad was a minister, and his mother, a homemaker. "Gospel music was the first music I heard,” Bill recalls. “Dad played the trombone, guitar and harmonica (at the same time!), piano and organ, and I have vivid memories of him playing the accordion while my mom sang. She had a beautiful, very natural, voice. Dad still plays an old, silver valve trombone. I loved that sound-it's probably the reason I took up the baritone horn and trumpet in Jr. high school.” Bill's first keyboard experience was on the family “spinet piano, a Baldwin Acrosonic, and I was at it from a very early age. I had some great teachers down through the years but the one who really set the stage, at around age 8, was read more...