$ 0.99 USD
1. This Will Be Our Year (lo-fi)
2. This Will Be Our Year (hi-fi)
$ 5.00 USD $ 15.00 USD
Available for the first time, Jason Brewer has reached back into the archives on the latest release simply called ‘Rarities Volume 1’ which is a collection of long lost singles and various outtakes originally recorded between 2011-2013 during the sessions for the band's second album, ‘Grand Hotel’. The album boasts a set of superb cover versions of 60’s classics, such as ‘Hitchin’ A Ride’, ‘Stormy’ and ‘Walk On By’ as well as the original Orchestral Version of ‘Don’t Waste Her Time’. A different version of this song is on the ‘Together’ album.
These long-awaited sessions have been meticulously remastered, remixed and sequenced together into a satisfying and cohesive album produced by Jason Brewer with brilliant engineer Matt Goldman and the legendary Mitch Easter (REM).
TRACKLISTING:
1. Hitchin’ A Ride 2. Anticipatin’ (under construction mix) 3. Run Run Run (under construction mix) 4. Stormy 5. Sweet Delights (under construction mix) 6. It’s No Use (under construction mix) 7. Walk On By 8. Weight Of The World (under construction mix) 9. Summer Days, Summer Nights (under construction mix) 10. No Good To Cry 11. Don’t Waste Her Time (orchestral version)
$ 15.00 USD $ 25.00 USD
Available for the first time, Jason Brewer has reached back into the archives on the latest release simply called ‘Rarities Volume 1’ which is a collection of long lost singles and various outtakes originally recorded between 2011-2013 during the sessions for the band's second album, ‘Grand Hotel’. The album boasts a set of superb cover versions of 60’s classics, such as ‘Hitchin’ A Ride’, ‘Stormy’ and ‘Walk On By’ as well as the original Orchestral Version of ‘Don’t Waste Her Time’. A different version of this song is on the ‘Together’ album.
These long-awaited sessions have been meticulously remastered, remixed and sequenced together into a satisfying and cohesive album produced by Jason Brewer with brilliant engineer Matt Goldman and the legendary Mitch Easter (REM).
TRACKLISTING:
1. Hitchin’ A Ride 2. Anticipatin’ (under construction mix) 3. Run Run Run (under construction mix) 4. Stormy 5. Sweet Delights (under construction mix) 6. It’s No Use (under construction mix) 7. Walk On By 8. Weight Of The World (under construction mix) 9. Summer Days, Summer Nights (under construction mix) 10. No Good To Cry 11. Don’t Waste Her Time (orchestral version)
$ 25.00 USD
Reina del Cid is a singer-songwriter and leader of the eponymous folk rock band based in Minnesota. Her song-a-week video series, Sunday Mornings with Reina del Cid, has racked up over 66 million views on YouTube and amassed a diverse following made up of everyone from jamheads to college students to white-haired intelligentsia. Morse Code is her fourth studio album.
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Reina del Cid is a singer-songwriter and leader of the eponymous folk rock band based in Minnesota. Her song-a-week video series, Sunday Mornings with Reina del Cid, has racked up over 66 million views on YouTube and amassed a diverse following made up of everyone from jamheads to college students to white-haired intelligentsia. Morse Code is her fourth studio album.
$ 20.00 USD
Aubrey Logan - Where The Sunshine Is Expensive DVD
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Aubrey Logan - Blue Christmas CD
$ 10.00 USD
Download provided immediately upon purchase for both mp3 and wav audio formats.
Laser-tight trio with an ear for lovely, lilting traditional melodies, Molsky’s Mountain Drifters brings tradition steeped in possibility. The grace and wisdom of longtime fiddle player and multi-instrumentalist Bruce Molsky, Berklee College of Music’s Visiting Scholar in the American Roots Program, described as “an absolute master” (No Depression) melds with the electricity of guitarist Stash Wyslouch, “a brilliant and free-thinking mind” (Chris Eldridge, Punch Brothers) and banjo player Allison de Groot’s “exquisite tone, timing, and taste” (Tony Trishka) to bring new ideas to traditional music. The Mountain Drifters are delighted announce the release of their 2nd album, Closing the Gap (Allison's original composition for banjo & band).
Closing The Gap is the Mountain Drifters in their natural and instinctual state; raw, playful and free, the way the music is meant to be. The music is hopeful and optimistic and comes from the heart, and the recording starts with “There’s a bright side somewhere, ain’t gonna rest until I find it.”
The title track, Allison de Groot's “Closing the Gap” feels like a race. Each note tries to catch up with the next, narrowing the gap and steadily propelling the tune from one section to the next. . .
Track List:
released February 22, 2019
Recorded - Dan Cardinal Dimension Sounds
Mixed - Dave Sinko, Nashville, TN
Mastered - David Glasser Airshow Studios
Graphics - Randall Martin Designs
Photography - Susan Wilson Photography
Produced - Bruce Molsky
Bruce Molsky - fiddle, vocals, banjo (on Old Kimball)
Allison de Groot - banjo, vocals
Stash Wyslouch - guitar, vocals
all rights reserved
$ 40.00 USD
180g double-sided vinyl signed by Aubrey herself!
$ 30.00 USD
Aubrey Logan - Signed Standard CD
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180 double-sided vinyl, expected to ship in mid-June.
$ 10.00 USD
Aubrey Logan - Standard Digital Download
$ 2.00 USD
Single will be delivered via email immediately upon purchase.
Wav format audio.
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Released March 26th, 2021.
Alone Together is a unique project that presented itself in many shapes and forms. When the pandemic started and all my touring was postponed indefinitely, I knew I needed to continue creating music for my own well-being. That’s when I started doing my virtual shows from my home studio on StageIt. A few shows in I started inviting special guests to perform with me, but as technology wasn’t allowing for ‘live’ duets we did it literally ‘alone together’ from separate locations as a pre-record. The most exhilarating part was that my fellow artists that I invited all said yes immediately – and the same goes for the selections I made for this album.
When it came time to stream the duets, technical challenges made it impossible to do them live. So for each duet, me and each artist created a pre-recorded video, doing one take from top to bottom. He mixed the music and then sent it all to a video editor to synch it up – and the result is pure sonic and split screen visual magic.
What ended up happening was incredible. We put together performances that were so real, heartfelt and authentic that it became apparent we were creating something special. We captured a spirit and vibe beyond anything I could have imagined. It’s not about being perfect but all about the heart and soul. It’s exciting to now share that magic with you on Alone Together.
1. Bakerstreet feat. Javier Colon
Track originally Produced by Keith Olsen
Produced by Michael Lington
Mixed by Michael Lington and Ray Bardani.
Mastered by Steve Hall
Art Direction by Paul Grosso
Musicians on Album:
Barry Eastmond, Ray Parker Jr, Paul Jackson Jr, Teddy Campbell, Nathan East, Freddie Washington, Tim Pierce, Randy Waldman, Dean Parks, Brian Bromberg, Vinnie Colaiuta, Luis Conte, Brian Culbertson, Oscar Seaton, Smitty Smith, Lenny Castro, Greg Karukas, Land Richard, Jeff Koz, Phillip Ingram, Shedrick Mitchell, Alex Al, Jairus Mozee, Tim Carmon, Omari Williams, Bill Reichenbach, Dan Higgins, Gary Grant, Dave Guy, Neal Sugerman, Cochemea Gastelum, Ricky Peterson
$ 5.00 USD $ 15.00 USD
"I stubbornly refused to pan anything on Unnecessary Evil... or The Blinding White Of Nothing At All. Pulled a power move and demanded mono! But Mike Purcell wanted to hear a stereo version of UE and now you can too, only from Goldstar Recordings!!!"
Tracklisting:
1. Any Way But Down
2. No Power
3. XLII
4. Stay Down
5. Just For A Moment
6. Unnecessary Evil
7. Artificial Air
8. The End Of The Day
9. Squared Up
10. Look Away
+ Quick Shop
$ 15.00 USD $ 25.00 USD
"I stubbornly refused to pan anything on Unnecessary Evil... or The Blinding White Of Nothing At All. Pulled a power move and demanded mono! But Mike Purcell wanted to hear a stereo version of UE and now you can too, only from Goldstar Recordings!!!"
Vinyl will be turquoise in color.
Tracklisting:
1. Any Way But Down
2. No Power
3. XLII
4. Stay Down
5. Just For A Moment
6. Unnecessary Evil
7. Artificial Air
8. The End Of The Day
9. Squared Up
10. Look Away
$ 0.99 USD
$ 25.00 USD
PLANET 9, the debut album of activist, author and filmmaker Rose McGowan was released digitally on April 24, 2020 and is finally available on a beautiful blue/purple glitter vinyl!
Five years in the making, PLANET 9 is a truly international work of art. Recorded in Paris, Biarritz, El Paso, and Los Angeles, The Planet 9 experience was created by Rose McGowan with collaborators such as DJ Falcon (who produced her favorite Daft Punk song), Punishment, an underground duo in Paris, and David Sitek (who’s worked on Massive Attack, TV on the Radio, and many others). Mixed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ sound engineer Michael Patterson (Social Network, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Stuart White (Beyoncé’s 'Lemonade'), and mastered by Paul Logus (Coheed & Cambria, Public Enemy). Rose wanted a lush, cinematic sound - as she puts it "music to go to space to."
$ 5.00 USD $ 15.00 USD
LANGAN, FROST & WANE is the collaboration of three songwriters, writing in the folk tradition and drawing candidly from the folk revival of the mid-twentieth century.
It began as a vessel for Brian Langan (Langan) and RJ Gilligan (Frost) to explore a territory they otherwise had no outlet for in their music. While Langan's past work with The Swims and Needlepoints was geared more towards well-crafted pop and boogie, Frost's output from Meddlesome Bells and Dark Web was heavier, more riffs - more punk.
It was in Langan, Frost, & Wane that they found a common ground.
As work on the album began, themes emerged.
What is it that allows a song to be playful, yet somber? How can the music tell a story on its own, apart from words? It was the same territory that the wild raucous flutes found on early Incredible String Band occupied, or better still, the second half of Donovan's A Gift From A Flower To A Garden.
They set about to capture it.
Frost ran a small studio and field recording label in Philadelphia, Bells Records, allowing the duo to dive into different tracking arrangements and experimentations, building out each song organically over a period of time. After wrapping up a season of sessions, Frost suggested Nam Wayne (Wane) to Langan as a possible third collaborator. Wane and Frost had been trading folk songs for some time and it became clear he was on a similar quest. After an evening of impromptu song writing among the three it was settled, and the project solidified.
The group is driven by Langan and Frost's finger-plucked melodies on guitar, complimented with found sound, instrumentation of the Middle and Far East, India, the Mediterranean, and Appalachia.
It is the belief of these songwriters that they succeeded in what they set out to do. This body of work is the culmination of those long hours spent searching for what is not lost, but perhaps sometimes forgotten
TRACKLISTINGS:
$ 15.00 USD $ 25.00 USD
LANGAN, FROST & WANE is the collaboration of three songwriters, writing in the folk tradition and drawing candidly from the folk revival of the mid-twentieth century.
It began as a vessel for Brian Langan (Langan) and RJ Gilligan (Frost) to explore a territory they otherwise had no outlet for in their music. While Langan's past work with The Swims and Needlepoints was geared more towards well-crafted pop and boogie, Frost's output from Meddlesome Bells and Dark Web was heavier, more riffs - more punk.
It was in Langan, Frost, & Wane that they found a common ground.
As work on the album began, themes emerged.
What is it that allows a song to be playful, yet somber? How can the music tell a story on its own, apart from words? It was the same territory that the wild raucous flutes found on early Incredible String Band occupied, or better still, the second half of Donovan's A Gift From A Flower To A Garden.
They set about to capture it.
Frost ran a small studio and field recording label in Philadelphia, Bells Records, allowing the duo to dive into different tracking arrangements and experimentations, building out each song organically over a period of time. After wrapping up a season of sessions, Frost suggested Nam Wayne (Wane) to Langan as a possible third collaborator. Wane and Frost had been trading folk songs for some time and it became clear he was on a similar quest. After an evening of impromptu song writing among the three it was settled, and the project solidified.
The group is driven by Langan and Frost's finger-plucked melodies on guitar, complimented with found sound, instrumentation of the Middle and Far East, India, the Mediterranean, and Appalachia.
It is the belief of these songwriters that they succeeded in what they set out to do. This body of work is the culmination of those long hours spent searching for what is not lost, but perhaps sometimes forgotten
TRACKLISTINGS:
$ 2.00 USD
Mp3 download of the single "Dreams" will be delivered on Friday March 26th.
If purchases after that date, digital delivery is immediate.
$ 2.00 USD
Aubrey Logan - Louboutins 2.0 Single Download in mp3 format
$ 8.00 USD
Maria Raquel y sus Maravillas - Self Titled 7"
Vinyl will be a random mystery color!
$ 15.00 USD
Steve Gadd - At Blue Note Tokyo CD
Regular or autographed versions available.
$ 15.00 USD $ 25.00 USD
Brent’s pop melodies summon the restrained beauty of his native Midwest. A fixture in Kansas City music, Windler’s pacific harmonies and intricate vocal and instrumental structures capture the polite malaise of Americana as it is lived everyday in mid-sized cities of the heartland. For more than a decade, Windler has explored this terrain that has grown into a more expansive identity that perfectly captures both the sticky sameness of a Midwestern evening, and Windler’s own embrace of a sound that is uniquely his own.
Brent’s first solo album “New Morning Howl” is an old friend joining you cross-country. As Windler narrates the tender sameness of the landscape, his arrangements and harmonies reveal hidden depths, casting the familiar in a sound that is lush, layered, and new.
Tracks :
$ 5.00 USD $ 15.00 USD
Brent’s pop melodies summon the restrained beauty of his native Midwest. A fixture in Kansas City music, Windler’s pacific harmonies and intricate vocal and instrumental structures capture the polite malaise of Americana as it is lived everyday in mid-sized cities of the heartland. For more than a decade, Windler has explored this terrain that has grown into a more expansive identity that perfectly captures both the sticky sameness of a Midwestern evening, and Windler’s own embrace of a sound that is uniquely his own.
Brent’s first solo album “New Morning Howl” is an old friend joining you cross-country. As Windler narrates the tender sameness of the landscape, his arrangements and harmonies reveal hidden depths, casting the familiar in a sound that is lush, layered, and new.
Tracks :
$ 20.00 USD
More stock currently in production and expected to ship at the end of May, 2021.
Sold Out
Signed copy of Wax Wings newly pressed on 140g black vinyl.
$ 30.00 USD
One copy of Wax Wings newly pressed on 140g black vinyl.
$ 30.00 USD
One copy of We Were Here newly pressed on 140g black vinyl.
$ 30.00 USD
One copy of Simple Times newly pressed on 140g black vinyl.
$ 20.00 USD
Yam Haus - Stargazer Sessions + Bonus Tracks CD
$ 10.00 USD
The official hard copy of The Band Is Gonna Make It EP
Tracklisting:
wOw!
The Thrill
Cute
Simplicity
Adriana
Wake Up
$ 15.00 USD
Receive an immediate download of the track "Vacation" ft. Train when you pre-order.
Tracklisting:
$ 10.00 USD
Receive an immediate download of the track "Vacation" ft. Train when you pre-order.
Tracklisting:
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Dirty Heads - Any Port In A Storm Special Edition CD
$ 30.00 USD
Nothing More - The Stories We Tell Ourselves Splatter Vinyl
$ 30.00 USD
Nothing More - Self Titled Vinyl
$ 15.00 USD
Joshua Radin - The Ghost And The Wall CD
$ 10.00 USD
The Lyle Mays Estate is elated to announce the release of a thirteen-minute “mini symphony” entitled Eberhard—a composition completed by Mays in 2009 for the Zeltsman Marimba Festival, and recorded in the months before his passing on February 10, 2020, with a slate of notable names in jazz including Bill Frisell, Alex Acuña, and Bob Sheppard.
Due out on August 27, 2021, Eberhard is a long-form, multi-section work that is Lyle’s self-professed dedication to the great German bass player Eberhard Weber, a composer whose influence loomed large on Mays and his long-time collaborator Pat Metheny in the forming of the 11-time Grammy-Award winning Pat Metheny Group during the mid 70’s and throughout their careers. According to Steve Rodby (bass player of the Pat Metheny Group and Lyle’s best friend) who did double duty on this recording as co-associate producer and acoustic bassist, “…though he called it his ‘humble tribute’ to Eberhard, it is still 100 percent Lyle in every way.”
A steady, lilting marimba (Wade Culbreath) ostinato offers an ample bed for Eberhard’s ethereal opening piano melody, performed, of course, by Mays. Lyle’s unmistakeable orchestrational style is immediately on display as various shakers, rainsticks, and atmospheric synthesizer pads quietly make their way into the texture, rising and falling organically as an electric bass theme (played by longtime James Taylor cohort, Jimmy Johnson) emerges. Wordless vocals, a hallmark of the music of the Pat Metheny Group, supplied here by jazz singers Aubrey Johnson (Lyle’s niece and co-executive producer), Rosana Eckert, and Gary Eckert, are introduced—first as accompaniment to the bass melody and later as melodic “instruments.”
Vocal features give way to Bob Sheppard’s woodwind section, which gives way to cello section underscores (led by principal Timothy Loo), and soon the whole ensemble, including star drummer/percussionists Jimmy Branly and Alex Acuña, Steve Rodby (acoustic bass), Mitchel Forman (Hammond B3 Organ/Wurlitzer piano), and Bill Frisell (guitar) have made appearances. All sixteen instrumentalists/vocalists rarely play at the same time, instead playfully weaving in and out for various features (notably by Mays, Jimmy Johnson, Aubrey Johnson, and Culbreath) and accompanying textures. In a piece already abundant with aural decadence, Bob Sheppard’s extended tenor saxophone solo, which brings Eberhard to its climax, is perhaps the most thrilling. The piece ends as it began, with a sparse recapitulation of the introduction, rewarding the listener with the feeling of having experienced an incredible musical odyssey.
In typical Lyle fashion, this music reflects and honors his far-reaching influences, most obviously the bass playing and compositional style of Eberhard Weber (with whom Lyle recorded on two occasions), but continuing on through Philip Glass’ minimalism, Indonesian Gamelan ensemble, Brazilian music (notably the percussive and speech-like vocal techniques of Lyle’s friend and collaborator Naná Vasconcelos), to the blues, and to classical forms and structures. As in all of his compositions, Mays’ propensity for exploiting compositional material (or, its “DNA”) to the fullest extent is ever constant throughout Eberhard. Like a scientist, he would take a simple melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, or other kind of idea and experiment with it until he had discovered all of the different forms it could take—melody, counterline, background pad, bassline, rhythmic motif, and more—often using the same ideas in a wide variety of ways. Eberhard is utterly intentional, containing layer upon layer of depth, complexity, love, and care for the listener to discover.
While technically a posthumous release, Mays was engaged in the making of Eberhard from beginning to end—serving as composer, arranger, performer (piano, keyboards, and synthesizers), producer, and executive producer, and was actively involved in all of the recording and mixing sessions, which took place in Los Angeles during the latter half of 2019.
Fans will know that Lyle had been on hiatus from his enormously successful touring and recording career with the Pat Metheny Group and as a solo artist (Eberhard will be his seventh release as a leader) since 2011, choosing instead to pursue his myriad non-musical passions. Then, “Lyle’s health took a bad turn in 2019, and at about the same time, he decided to try to get Eberhard recorded.The relationship between those two events is complex. What’s clear is that he would continue writing and extending this music, as was always his process: to try to find every bit of what the material suggested, every note and harmony, and sound it evoked for him. He added parts, expanded orchestration, imagining it all on an even grander scale,” Steve Rodby explains. “The result is this recording, and what he was able to hear in his final days. This wasn’t meant to be Lyle’s last piece of music, and if he had lived longer, he had plans for more.”
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A Mild Case Of Everything on compact disc: The masterpiece concept album from Killers guitarist Dave Keuning.
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A Mild Case Of Everything on vinyl: The masterpiece concept album from Killers guitarist Dave Keuning.
Premium colored Double Vinyl featuring 17 songs. Includes an extra song that is ONLY exclusively available on Vinyl.
Note: Image shown is a production mockup and each vinyl will be a unique splatter including similar colors.
$ 5.00 USD
The Lyle Mays Estate is elated to announce the release of a thirteen-minute “mini symphony” entitled Eberhard—a composition completed by Mays in 2009 for the Zeltsman Marimba Festival, and recorded in the months before his passing on February 10, 2020, with a slate of notable names in jazz including Bill Frisell, Alex Acuña, and Bob Sheppard.
Due out on August 27, 2021, Eberhard is a long-form, multi-section work that is Lyle’s self-professed dedication to the great German bass player Eberhard Weber, a composer whose influence loomed large on Mays and his long-time collaborator Pat Metheny in the forming of the 11-time Grammy-Award winning Pat Metheny Group during the mid 70’s and throughout their careers. According to Steve Rodby (bass player of the Pat Metheny Group and Lyle’s best friend) who did double duty on this recording as co-associate producer and acoustic bassist, “…though he called it his ‘humble tribute’ to Eberhard, it is still 100 percent Lyle in every way.”
A steady, lilting marimba (Wade Culbreath) ostinato offers an ample bed for Eberhard’s ethereal opening piano melody, performed, of course, by Mays. Lyle’s unmistakeable orchestrational style is immediately on display as various shakers, rainsticks, and atmospheric synthesizer pads quietly make their way into the texture, rising and falling organically as an electric bass theme (played by longtime James Taylor cohort, Jimmy Johnson) emerges. Wordless vocals, a hallmark of the music of the Pat Metheny Group, supplied here by jazz singers Aubrey Johnson (Lyle’s niece and co-executive producer), Rosana Eckert, and Gary Eckert, are introduced—first as accompaniment to the bass melody and later as melodic “instruments.”
Vocal features give way to Bob Sheppard’s woodwind section, which gives way to cello section underscores (led by principal Timothy Loo), and soon the whole ensemble, including star drummer/percussionists Jimmy Branly and Alex Acuña, Steve Rodby (acoustic bass), Mitchel Forman (Hammond B3 Organ/Wurlitzer piano), and Bill Frisell (guitar) have made appearances. All sixteen instrumentalists/vocalists rarely play at the same time, instead playfully weaving in and out for various features (notably by Mays, Jimmy Johnson, Aubrey Johnson, and Culbreath) and accompanying textures. In a piece already abundant with aural decadence, Bob Sheppard’s extended tenor saxophone solo, which brings Eberhard to its climax, is perhaps the most thrilling. The piece ends as it began, with a sparse recapitulation of the introduction, rewarding the listener with the feeling of having experienced an incredible musical odyssey.
In typical Lyle fashion, this music reflects and honors his far-reaching influences, most obviously the bass playing and compositional style of Eberhard Weber (with whom Lyle recorded on two occasions), but continuing on through Philip Glass’ minimalism, Indonesian Gamelan ensemble, Brazilian music (notably the percussive and speech-like vocal techniques of Lyle’s friend and collaborator Naná Vasconcelos), to the blues, and to classical forms and structures. As in all of his compositions, Mays’ propensity for exploiting compositional material (or, its “DNA”) to the fullest extent is ever constant throughout Eberhard. Like a scientist, he would take a simple melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, or other kind of idea and experiment with it until he had discovered all of the different forms it could take—melody, counterline, background pad, bassline, rhythmic motif, and more—often using the same ideas in a wide variety of ways. Eberhard is utterly intentional, containing layer upon layer of depth, complexity, love, and care for the listener to discover.
While technically a posthumous release, Mays was engaged in the making of Eberhard from beginning to end—serving as composer, arranger, performer (piano, keyboards, and synthesizers), producer, and executive producer, and was actively involved in all of the recording and mixing sessions, which took place in Los Angeles during the latter half of 2019.
Fans will know that Lyle had been on hiatus from his enormously successful touring and recording career with the Pat Metheny Group and as a solo artist (Eberhard will be his seventh release as a leader) since 2011, choosing instead to pursue his myriad non-musical passions. Then, “Lyle’s health took a bad turn in 2019, and at about the same time, he decided to try to get Eberhard recorded.The relationship between those two events is complex. What’s clear is that he would continue writing and extending this music, as was always his process: to try to find every bit of what the material suggested, every note and harmony, and sound it evoked for him. He added parts, expanded orchestration, imagining it all on an even grander scale,” Steve Rodby explains. “The result is this recording, and what he was able to hear in his final days. This wasn’t meant to be Lyle’s last piece of music, and if he had lived longer, he had plans for more.”
$ 20.00 USD
Ships with free 12x12" album art poster
Also includes an immediate download of the digital album at the time of purchase.
The Lyle Mays Estate is elated to announce the release of a thirteen-minute “mini symphony” entitled Eberhard—a composition completed by Mays in 2009 for the Zeltsman Marimba Festival, and recorded in the months before his passing on February 10, 2020, with a slate of notable names in jazz including Bill Frisell, Alex Acuña, and Bob Sheppard.
Due out on August 27, 2021, Eberhard is a long-form, multi-section work that is Lyle’s self-professed dedication to the great German bass player Eberhard Weber, a composer whose influence loomed large on Mays and his long-time collaborator Pat Metheny in the forming of the 11-time Grammy-Award winning Pat Metheny Group during the mid 70’s and throughout their careers. According to Steve Rodby (bass player of the Pat Metheny Group and Lyle’s best friend) who did double duty on this recording as co-associate producer and acoustic bassist, “…though he called it his ‘humble tribute’ to Eberhard, it is still 100 percent Lyle in every way.”
A steady, lilting marimba (Wade Culbreath) ostinato offers an ample bed for Eberhard’s ethereal opening piano melody, performed, of course, by Mays. Lyle’s unmistakeable orchestrational style is immediately on display as various shakers, rainsticks, and atmospheric synthesizer pads quietly make their way into the texture, rising and falling organically as an electric bass theme (played by longtime James Taylor cohort, Jimmy Johnson) emerges. Wordless vocals, a hallmark of the music of the Pat Metheny Group, supplied here by jazz singers Aubrey Johnson (Lyle’s niece and co-executive producer), Rosana Eckert, and Gary Eckert, are introduced—first as accompaniment to the bass melody and later as melodic “instruments.”
Vocal features give way to Bob Sheppard’s woodwind section, which gives way to cello section underscores (led by principal Timothy Loo), and soon the whole ensemble, including star drummer/percussionists Jimmy Branly and Alex Acuña, Steve Rodby (acoustic bass), Mitchel Forman (Hammond B3 Organ/Wurlitzer piano), and Bill Frisell (guitar) have made appearances. All sixteen instrumentalists/vocalists rarely play at the same time, instead playfully weaving in and out for various features (notably by Mays, Jimmy Johnson, Aubrey Johnson, and Culbreath) and accompanying textures. In a piece already abundant with aural decadence, Bob Sheppard’s extended tenor saxophone solo, which brings Eberhard to its climax, is perhaps the most thrilling. The piece ends as it began, with a sparse recapitulation of the introduction, rewarding the listener with the feeling of having experienced an incredible musical odyssey.
In typical Lyle fashion, this music reflects and honors his far-reaching influences, most obviously the bass playing and compositional style of Eberhard Weber (with whom Lyle recorded on two occasions), but continuing on through Philip Glass’ minimalism, Indonesian Gamelan ensemble, Brazilian music (notably the percussive and speech-like vocal techniques of Lyle’s friend and collaborator Naná Vasconcelos), to the blues, and to classical forms and structures. As in all of his compositions, Mays’ propensity for exploiting compositional material (or, its “DNA”) to the fullest extent is ever constant throughout Eberhard. Like a scientist, he would take a simple melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, or other kind of idea and experiment with it until he had discovered all of the different forms it could take—melody, counterline, background pad, bassline, rhythmic motif, and more—often using the same ideas in a wide variety of ways. Eberhard is utterly intentional, containing layer upon layer of depth, complexity, love, and care for the listener to discover.
While technically a posthumous release, Mays was engaged in the making of Eberhard from beginning to end—serving as composer, arranger, performer (piano, keyboards, and synthesizers), producer, and executive producer, and was actively involved in all of the recording and mixing sessions, which took place in Los Angeles during the latter half of 2019.
Fans will know that Lyle had been on hiatus from his enormously successful touring and recording career with the Pat Metheny Group and as a solo artist (Eberhard will be his seventh release as a leader) since 2011, choosing instead to pursue his myriad non-musical passions. Then, “Lyle’s health took a bad turn in 2019, and at about the same time, he decided to try to get Eberhard recorded.The relationship between those two events is complex. What’s clear is that he would continue writing and extending this music, as was always his process: to try to find every bit of what the material suggested, every note and harmony, and sound it evoked for him. He added parts, expanded orchestration, imagining it all on an even grander scale,” Steve Rodby explains. “The result is this recording, and what he was able to hear in his final days. This wasn’t meant to be Lyle’s last piece of music, and if he had lived longer, he had plans for more.”
$ 12.99 USD
2021 new album from Low Roar: maybe tomorrow on CD
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