Bill Mays
Bill Mays (born February 5, 1944 in Sacramento , California ) is an American jazz pianist .
Live and act
Mays, who played the piano as a child, was a member of a US Navy band while studying at the Naval School of Music in Washington. After four years in the Navy, he joined Bill Green's ensemble in San Diego . In 1969 he went to Los Angeles. Here he worked a. a. with Buddy Collette , Harold Land , Shelly Manne , Bud Shank and Art Pepper , was a member of the Bobby Shew Quintet , took part in recordings with Stan Kenton's Neophonic Orchestra , made duo recordings with Alan Broadbent and accompanied Ernie Watts and Abe Laboriel as a band member .
He also worked in the Hollywood recording studios, where he became familiar with other keyboard instruments such as harpsichord, celesta, organ and synthesizer and a. worked with JJ Johnson and Benny Golson . In the 1970s he was the companion of Sarah Vaughan and Al Jarreau .
After a debut album as a band leader (with bassist Red Mitchell ) Mays went to New York in 1984. His musical partners here included Ron Carter , Al Cohn , Eddie Daniels , Ray Drummond , Benny Golson, Mel Lewis , Charles McPherson , Bob Mintzer , Gerry Mulligan , Rufus Reid , the Maria Schneider Orchestra , Marvin Stamm , Clark Terry , Toots Thielemans , the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra , Paul Winter and Phil Woods .
In addition, he leads several of his own formations - including the Inventions Trio with trumpeter Marvin Stamm and cellist Alisa Horn and a trio with bassist Martin Wind and drummer Matt Wilson - and also appears as a soloist. He worked as a composer for musicians such as Percy Faith , Woody Herman , Morgana King , Shelly Manne, Mark Murphy , Bud Shank, Lew Tabackin and Phil Woods and composed piano pieces, suites for piano and flute and piano and double bass, saxophone quartets, pieces for jazz band and Symphony orchestra and an arrangement of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite for jazz ensemble. In 2012 he worked in a trio with Tommy Cecil and Duduka da Fonseca .
Discographic notes
- A Musical Cocktail , solo album, 1976
- Explorations with Bud Shank, 1979
- Night an Day with Peter Sprague , Jim Plank and Bob Magnusson , 1980
- Two of a Mind with Red Mitchell, 1982
- Tha's Delight , Bill Mays Quintet (with Shelly Manne, Andy Simpkins , Tom Harrell and Ralph Moore ), 1983
- Kaleidoscope , Bill Mays Quintet (with Jeff Hirshfield , Harvie Swartz , Peter Sprague and Dick Oatts ), 1989
- One To One with Ray Drummond, 1989
- One To One 2 with Ray Drummond, 1990
- Live at Maybeck Hall , solo album, 1992
- Bill Mays / Ed Bickert : At Maybeck , 1994
- To Ellington Affair , Bill Mays Trio (with Lewis Nash and John Goldsby ), 1994
- Stridin 'In Five , solo album, 1995
- Mays In Manhattan , Bill Mays Trio / Sextet (with Tim Horner , Sean Smith , Marvin Stamm, Jon Gordon and Ed Neumeister ), 1996
- Out In Pa. , Bill Mays Trio (with Martin Wind and Matt Wilson), 1999
- By Ourselves with Marvin Stamm, 1999
- Summer Sketches , Bill Mays Trio, 2000
- Going Home , Bill Mays Trio, 2002
- Bick's Bag with George Shearing , Neil Swainson and Terry Clarke , 2002
- Live at Jazz Standard , Bill Mays Trio, 2004
- Fantasy , Bill Mays Invention Trio (with Marvin Stamm and Alisa Horn ), 2001, 2005
- Mays Plays Mays , 2019
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mays, Bill |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mays, William Allen (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 5, 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sacramento , California |