Bobby Lyle

by Scott YanowA flexible pianist and keyboardist, Bobby Lyle has long straddled the boundaries between straightahead and more commercial forms of jazz. He grew up in Minneapolis and at age six took piano lessons from his mother who was a church organist. Lyle played clarinet for a period in junior high school before switching back to piano. He considers Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans, Erroll Garner and Art Tatum to have been his early influences. Lyles first gig was when he was 16 and, after two years of college, in 1964 he became a fulltime musician. He spent six years playing locally in Minneapolis and then toured for two years with Young-Holt Unlimited. After returning to Minneapolis for local work (recording a set in 1974 that was released just in Japan), in 1976 Lyle moved to Los Angeles where he quickly got a job with Sly and the Family Stone. After playing with Ronnie Laws, he recorded two solo albums for Capitol. Lyle made guest appearances on recordings by George Benson, Phyllis Hyman and Esteher Phillips and in the early 1980s toured with Benson and became Bette Midlers musical director. After two years with Al Jarreau, Lyle recorded a straightahead combo date for King (which was reissued as an Evidence CD), conducted for Anita Baker in 1986 and worked with Gerald Albright. That year he began a long association with Atlantic with his 1991 album of piano solos Pianomagic being one of the highlights of his career. In the late 1990s, Bobby Lyle remains a highly versatile and valuable keyboardist, both as a leader (frequently appearing in the Los Angeles area) and as a sideman.