Bill Mays
Encyclopedia
William Allen Mays best known as Bill Mays, is a jazz pianist from Sacramento
, California
He came from a musical family and at fifteen he became interested in jazz at an Earl Hines
concert.
From 1969 to the early 1980s he worked as a studio session musician in Los Angeles
. He has been an accompanist to singers Al Jarreau
, Peggy Lee
, Anita O'Day
, Frank Sinatra
, Sarah Vaughan
and Dionne Warwick
, and also worked with artists such as Mel Lewis
, Shelly Manne
, Bob Mintzer
, Red Mitchell
, Gerry Mulligan
, Art Pepper
, Bud Shank
, Bobby Shew
, Sonny Stitt
, Paul Winter
, Phil Woods
and Frank Zappa
. In 1984, he moved to New York City
and began to do more work as a bandleader, composer, and arranger. He has recorded over two dozen albums under his own name, and has been heard on hundreds more by others.
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
He came from a musical family and at fifteen he became interested in jazz at an Earl Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
concert.
From 1969 to the early 1980s he worked as a studio session musician in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He has been an accompanist to singers Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau
Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Anita O'Day
Anita O'Day
Anita O'Day was an American jazz singer.Born Anita Belle Colton, O'Day was admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer"...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
and Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, and also worked with artists such as Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis was an American drummer, jazz musician and band leader. He was born Melvin Sokoloff in Buffalo, New York to Russian immigrant parents....
, Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
, Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer is a jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader based in Los Angeles, California. Mintzer is a member of the jazz rock band the Yellowjackets.-With The Yellowjackets:*Greenhouse, 1991;*Live Wires, 1992;...
, Red Mitchell
Red Mitchell
Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell (September 20, 1927, New York City - November 8, 1992, Salem, Oregon, was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet. He was the brother of Whitey Mitchell....
, Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan
Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...
, Art Pepper
Art Pepper
Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
, Bud Shank
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and throughout the decade worked in various small jazz combos. He spent the 1960s as a first...
, Bobby Shew
Bobby Shew
-Biography:After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet with the NORAD band in Colorado Springs and on tour. After leaving the Army, Shew joined Tommy Dorsey's band and then played with the Woody Herman and then the Buddy Rich Big Bands in the mid-to-late...
, Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt
Edward "Sonny" Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was also one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 albums in his lifetime...
, Paul Winter
Paul Winter
Paul Winter is an American saxophonist , and is a six-time Grammy Award nominee.- Biography :Paul Winter attended Altoona Area High School and graduated in 1957...
, Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
and Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
. In 1984, he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and began to do more work as a bandleader, composer, and arranger. He has recorded over two dozen albums under his own name, and has been heard on hundreds more by others.
Discography (as a leader)
- A Musical Cocktail, solo album, 1976
- Explorations with Bud Shank, (Concord Concerto 1979)
- Night and Day with Peter Sprague, Jim Plank and Bob MagnussonBob MagnussonBob Magnusson is a bassist best known for his jazz and studio work and has a personal discography in excess of 150 albums and CDs.-Career:...
, (Discovery Rec. 1980) - Two of a Mind with Red Mitchell, (ITI Rec. 1982)
- Tha's Delights, Bill Mays Quintet, with Shelly Manne, Andy SimpkinsAndy SimpkinsAndy Simpkins was an American jazz bassist.Born Andrew Simpkins in Richmond, Indiana, he first became known as a member of the group The Three Sounds, with which he performed from 1956 to 1968. After that, until 1974, he was a member of pianist George Shearing's group, and from 1979 to 1989 toured...
, Tom HarrellTom HarrellTom Harrell is a renowned American post-bop jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer and arranger.-Biography:Tom Harrell was born in Urbana, Illinois but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area at the age of five. He started playing trumpet at eight and within five years, started playing gigs with...
and Ralph MooreRalph Moore-Biography:Ralph Moore was born in London, England and grew up in a crowded inner city area. He evinced no particular musical interest until his mother bought him a trumpet when he was 13. Ralph studied with the late Alan Briggs, a local musician, in Brixton, and was soon sitting in with pub bands....
, (Discovery Rec. 1983) - Kaleidoscope, Bill Mays Quintet, with Jeff HirshfieldJeff HirshfieldJeffrey Lee Hirshfield is an American jazz drummer.Hirshfield studied under Ed Soph. He worked for the Joffrey Ballet in 1976-77 and then played with Mose Allison . During the 1980s he worked with Red Rodney and Ira Sullivan , Toshiko Akiyoshi , and Bennie Wallace...
, Harvie SwartzHarvie SwartzHarvie S is an American jazz double-bassist.S learned piano as a child and did not begin playing bass until 1967, when he was nineteen years old. He attended Berklee College of Music and played in and around Boston with Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Mose Allison, and Chris Connor...
, Peter Sprague and Dick OattsDick OattsRichard "Dick" Oatts is a jazz saxophonist from Jefferson, Iowa. He became interested in saxophone due to his father Jack Oatts. To this day he still plays on the same Selmer Mark VI alto saxophone his father gave to him. He began his professional career in Minneapolis in 1972 and in 1977 he joined...
, (Concord-Jazz Alliance 1989) - One To One with Ray DrummondRay DrummondRay Drummond is a jazz bassist and teacher. He also has an MBA from Stanford University, hence his linkage to the Stanford Jazz Workshop...
, (DMP Rec. 1989) - One To One 2 with Ray Drummond, (DMP Rec. 1990)
- Live at Maybeck Hall, solo album, (Concord Rec. 1992)
- Bill Mays/Ed BickertEd BickertEdward Isaac "Ed" Bickert, CM is a Canadian jazz guitarist.-Early life:Second youngest of his family, Bickert was born in Hochfeld, Manitoba; his family moved shortly after he was born to Vernon, British Columbia...
: Live At Maybeck Hall, (Concord Rec. 1994) - An Ellington Affair, Bill Mays Trio, with Lewis NashLewis NashLewis Nash is an American jazz drummer. According to Modern Drummer magazine, Nash has one of the longest discographies in jazz. and has played on over 400 records by musicians, earning him the honor of being named Jazz's Most Valuable Player by the magazine in it's May, 2009 issue...
and John Goldsby, (Concord Rec. 1994) - Stridin’ In Five, solo album, 1995
- Mays In Manhattan, Bill Mays Trio/Sextet, with Tim HornerTim HornerTim Horner is a professional wrestler best known for his "Lightning Express" tag team with Brad Armstrong.-Career:Tim Horner started wrestling in 1982 in the Alabama territory. He formed a tag team called the "Lightning Express" with Brad Armstrong and they had a lot of success. They won the...
, Sean Smith, Marvin Stamm, Jon Gordon and Ed NeumeisterEd NeumeisterComposer and jazz trombonist Ed Neumeister frequently tours Europe, Japan and the U.S. writing for and performing as guest soloist with bands and orchestras as well as performing solo, duo, trio and quartet concerts....
, (Concord Rec. 1996) - Out In Pa., Bill Mays Trio, with Martin Wind and Matt Wilson, (No Blooze Music, 1999; reissued Palmetto Rec. 2010)
- By Ourselves with Marvin Stamm, (Marstam Rec. 1999)
- Summer Sketches, Bill Mays Trio, with Martin Wind and Matt Wilson, (Palmetto Rec. 2000)
- Going Home, Bill Mays Trio, with Martin Wind and Matt Wilson, (Palmetto Rec. 2002)
- Bick's Bag with Neil Swainson and Terry Clarke, (Triplet Rec. 2002)
- Live at Jazz Standard, Bill Mays Trio, with Martin Wind and Matt Wilson, (Palmetto Rec. 2004)
- Fantasy, Inventions Trio with Marvin Stamm and Alisa Horn, (Palmetto Rec. 2005)
- Delaware River Suite, Inventions Trio with Marvin Stamm and Alisa Horn, (No Blooze Music, 2007)
- SOLO: Bill Mays, solo piano DVD, (No Blooze Music, 2009)
- Mays At The Movies, Bill Mays Trio, with Peter Washington and Billy Drummond (Steeplechase Rec. 2009)
- The Best Is Yet To Come, Bill Mays Trio, with Joe La Barbera and Ryu Kawamura (Five Stars Rec. 2009)
- Stuffy Turkey, Bill Mays Trio, with Joe La Barbera and Mattias Svensson (Five Stars Rec. 2010)
- Blue Rondo a la Turk, Bill Mays and Keisuke Ohta (Five Stars Rec. 2010)
- Phil & Bill, Phil Woods and Bill Mays (Palmetto Rec. 2011)