Bobby Lyle

Robert Lyle, known professionally as Bobby Lyle, is an American jazz pianist, organist, and educator. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 11, 1944, to Robert and Elise Lyle. He grew up in a musical home; his mother, a church organist, gave him his first piano lessons at age six. By junior high, he played clarinet and flute in the school band while continuing piano studies. He learned jazz by ear, and while attending Central High School in Minneapolis, drummer Harry Dillon hired him for his trio at a private club in St. Paul, Minnesota—Lyle’s first professional gig at age 16. After graduating, he studied piano for two years at the University of Minnesota (or other local institutions), then left to become a full-time musician. He soon played with former Ramsey Lewis bandmates Redd Holt and Eldee Young, touring the national jazz club circuit in a later ensemble. In 1970, at 26, he met and briefly played with Jimi Hendrix, who planned to form a jazz-rock group with Lyle, Willie Weeks, and Bill Lordan before Hendrix’s death later that year.

Lyle’s first recording came after winning a 1973 Yamaha Music Corporation international organ competition. The resulting album, *Bobby Lyle Plays the Electone GX707*, was released that year, launching his discography. In 1974, he moved with his wife Delores and two young sons from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. Through a friend, he met Sly Stone, auditioned, and toured with Sly and the Family Stone for the rest of the year. After that, trombonist Wayne Henderson, a co-founder of the Jazz Crusaders, introduced Lyle to Ronnie Laws, leading to touring with Laws. Henderson then brought Lyle’s demo to Larkin Arnold, Capitol Records’ Vice President of A&R, securing a record deal that produced three albums, starting with *The Genie* in 1977. When Capitol dropped its jazz division, Lyle toured with George Benson in the early 1980s and became musical director for Phyllis Hyman, Bette Midler (earning an Emmy nomination for her 1999 HBO special *Diva Las Vegas*), Al Jarreau, and Anita Baker. In June 1983, he played keyboards with Jarreau at a concert in Milan, Italy. In 1987, after a live audition, Atlantic Records’ Vice President of A&R Sylvia Rhone signed him, resulting in six albums over nine years. His 1990 album *The Journey* peaked at number 2 on the Contemporary Jazz chart.