Part 3 – Bobby Lyle: Making the Most of Pandemic 2020

(Introduction written by Kaylene Peoples)

As we continue with our shut-in from coronavirus, the goal to interview our beloved musicians and creatives continues as we approach our fourth month.  I can safely say the music has not stopped.  Many of us are experiencing it to satisfaction on zoom, Facebook Live, Instagram TV, Youtube, and other platforms with quality performances, blowing us all away.  I recently witnessed a performance of a musical poem, written by Bobby Lyle, which so eloquently reflected current events of racial unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd.  Bobby Lyle is definitely doing his part to keep the music flowing . . . in spite of the restrictions.

Pianist/Organist Bobby Lyle has been a fixture in the jazz scene for more than three decades. He is a performing artist, composer, recording artist (with product on Capitol Jazz, Atlantic Jazz, Three Keys, Heads Up, and most recently his own label, New Warrior Music); musical director, music publisher, and music educator. Lyle began his professional career at the age of 16, playing in local clubs in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After high school he enrolled in Macalester College in St. Paul, Mn. Where he took two years of advanced piano studies before hitting the road as a full-time musician. A move from Minneapolis to Los Angeles with his family set in motion a fortuitous set of circumstances that led him to Jazz Crusader co-founder Wayne Henderson, who secured his first record deal (with Capitol Jazz); and also became his first record producer and mentor in the business. Subsequent deals with Atlantic Jazz, Three Keys, and Heads Up allowed him to compile a prolific discography of music over the decades.

Lyle has served as musical director for Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Bette Midler (with whom he scored an Emmy nomination for her HBO special Diva Las Vegas), and Phyliss Hyman.  His 1990 project The Journey made it to #1 on the Billboard jazz chart, and he is still the only artist who’s record (Straight and Smooth on the Three Keys label, 2005) appeared on both the Billboard Magazine smooth jazz, and the Billboard traditional jazz charts at the same time. Aside from traveling with his own band, he is also involved with teaching and mentoring jazz piano students both privately, in seminars and clinics.

Highly revered in Houston, TX, Lyle was awarded with a “Bobby Lyle Day” plaque by mayor Anise Parker on August 12, 2012. That same year he began work on his first Hammond B-3 organ CD, The Way I Feel – A Tribute to the Late, Great Jimmy Smith and Guitarist Wes Montgomery. The CD was released in 2013, on New Warrior Music.

Questions by Sheryl Aronson
Responses by Bobby Lyle

How has the Corona Virus crisis affected you as a musician?

What has it meant to you sharing your music so personally to the audience on Facebook/Insta Live?