BOBBY LYLE
Pianist Bobby Lyle learned long ago that success and longevity in the music business are directly related to versatility and the ability to constantly refine and re-invent God-given talent. Thus in a career that has spanned some three decades, Lyle has established himself as a songwriter, producer, arranger, music publisher, sideman, bandleader, musical director, and world-class performer. Audiences at home and abroad have been mesmerized by Bobbyıs melodic compositions and dazzling piano technique.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Bobbyıs parents joined the post-war flight of African-Americans from the south to urban northern cities. The family ended up in Minneapolis, Minnesota-and thatıs where Lyleıs musical odyssey began. ³My love affair with the piano began at age six with Mom as my first teacher² Lyle fondly recalls²and growing up in a climate where you have six months of winter every year provided lots of practice time² he added with a smile. The resulting development eventually got him noticed by musicians and club-owners and soon the gigs began to pour in. This ³on the job² training coupled with exposure to the great jazz piano masters (Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner, Ahmad Jamal, and Hammond B-3 pioneer Jimmy Smith) advanced Lyleıs performing skills to the point that he left college after two years-feeling that the time was right to join the mainstream of national touring musicians. The first opportunity arrived in the form of Red Holt and Eldee Young (Young-Holt Unltd.), ex Ramsey Lewis bandmembers, who whisked Bobby away from the Twin Cities and into the national jazz club circuit, and also exposed him to his first major studio recording on the Atlantic-Cotillion label-a precursor of things to come.
Events happened quickly from this point in the early 70ıs; a meeting and subsequent jam session with Jimi Hendrix (who was planning on starting a jazz-rock group with Lyle and fellow Minnesotans Willie Weeks [bass] and Bill Lordan [drums] as the rhythm section before his untimely death later that year); a permanent move (with his young family) to Los Angeles in 1974; a nine month tour that same year with Sly and the Family Stone; and a stint with the Ronnie Laws band which led to a meeting with Wayne Henderson of the Jazz Crusaders-who then took him to Capitol Records for his first solo recording deal in 1977. After three albums (³The Genie², ³New Warrior², and ³Night Fire²), Capitol abandoned their jazz division and Lyle returned to the touring circuit-hitting the road in 1981 with George Benson. Extensive tours followed with Bette Midler, Al Jarreau, and Anita Baker (all as musical director) which covered most of the eighties. While performing with saxophonist Gerald Albright in 1987, Bobby came to the attention of Sylvia Rhone-then VP of Jazz and Urban music at Atlantic Records. This resulted in a recording deal in 1988 which spawned six albums in nine years including ³Ivory Dreams², ³The Journey²,-which became a #1 jazz album in 1990, ³Pianomagic²-a critically acclaimed solo piano project, ²Secret Island², ³Rhythm Stories², and ³The Power of Touch².
In the meantime, Lyle continued to tour with his own bands as well as with Bette Midler. He received an Emmy nomination for his musical direction on her HBO Special, ³Diva Las Vegas² in 1997.
At present Bobby is busy promoting his latest project ³Straight and Smooth², a groundbreaking two disc effort that features Lyle in his classic smooth jazz format on one disc, and lending his touch to a mixture of jazz classics, standards and originals in the acoustic piano trio format on the other. Coming off last yearıs ³Joyful² project which peaked at # 8 on the Billboard contemporary jazz chart, Lyle is excited about taking his musical message to the next level. ³Combining smooth AND straight ahead jazz in the same package has never been tried before² explained Lyle. ³I applaud my record label (Three Keys Music) for having the vision and the courage to present me in this way; and Iım really pumped about the live performance opportunities the two formats will create for me to take my music to the people.²
Lyleıs future plans also include breaking into film scoring, and setting up musical seminars in schools and colleges to make sure future generations continue to have an awareness of Americaıs only original art form, Jazz.
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