Keyboardist Extraordinaire

Lyle Mays, longtime collaborator of jazz guitarist, Pat Metheny, died this past week after a long recurring illness in Los Angeles of unspecified causes. He was 66. His niece, jazz vocalist Aubrey Johnson, announced his death on social media, noting that he passed away surrounded by loved ones.

Metheny, the guitarist, composer and NEA Jazz Master with whom Mays had his deepest musical bond, issued a statement remembering Mays as "one of the greatest musicians I have ever known." As core members of The Pat Metheny Group, Mays and Metheny won 11 Grammys together. He will be missed.