Lyle Mays has been an integral part of the Pat Metheny Group since its inception in 1977, and has co-written much of the consistently engaging music for the multi-Grammy-winning group's albums. Lyle's sense of melody, crystal clear virtuosity and almost cinematic scope of orchestration has clearly distinguished the group's sound.

Born into a musical family in Wausaukee, Wisconsin, in 1953, he was always encouraged to explore new forms of expression. As a teenager, Lyle attended jazz summer camps and studied with such talents as Rich Matteson and Marian McPartland. He then studied composition and arrangement at North Texas State University before touring with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd. While appearing at the 1975 Wichita Jazz Festival, Lyle met twenty-year-old guitarist Pat Metheny, and the two formed a musical alliance that has proven to be among the most artistically successful of the past three-plus decades.