Solo Improvisations for Expanded Piano
Like his longtime cohort, guitar legendPat Metheny, Lyle Mays never settles for simplicity. Any other pianist naming a projectSolomight easily just play some lovely piano improvisations and leave it at that. But for his fourth solo recording, the longtime Metheny Group keyboardist boldly tries going where no piano virtuoso has gone before. His approach is so unique and risky, in fact, that one almost has to be a technician to appreciate the way he achieves such a rich texturing of ivory-key improv and MIDI orchestrations. Suffice it to say that this music doesn't sound like any other piano-based jazz project, and that it requires multiple listens to fully appreciate the combination of spontaneous composing and complex arrangements and production.At times, Mays is very dramatic, then he'll switch quickly to the reflective, as he does on the opening track, "The Moment." He plays dramatic, harp-like flourishes, then eases into gentle impressionism that features occasional arpeggio bursts for emphasis. "Let Me Count the Ways" is a mood piece that rings like a sweet little New Age ditty due to the rare (for this project) inclusion of what seems like a real melody. "Procession" is also a rare gem here, a true melodic story piece created off the cuff. Metheny himself encouraged Mays to try a really long piece, and thus we can credit him for the pretentious "We Are All Alone." The tune begins with more than a minute of pure ambience, then ebbs and flows with a mix of graceful passages and potent glissandos--none of which create a melody or much to grab on to for more than 10 minutes. "The Imperative" is quite the opposite--a two-minute burst of pure, rambling energy that maximizes the percussive potential of the piano. The fire of this track helps balance the kindly but long pieces, such as "Long Life," that predominate. Jazz fans and those who appreciated Mays's previous work may at first scratch their heads over this one, but they'll likely join fans of more unrestrained piano explorations in ultimately digging it.--Jonathan Widran