Lyman Medeiros
Lyman is beyond belief as a fine bass player …
-Bass Legend Carol Kaye
He is truly one of the most gifted young bassists to come along in quite a while.
-Artist and Producer Steve Tyrell
L.A.-based bassist Lyman Medeiros was raised in Honolulu, HA and Indianapolis, IN to parents with Portuguese, Polynesian, and Irish heritage. He picked up his first electric bass at age thirteen and began studying the upright bass at eighteen. After seeing a dynamic concert by the Ray Brown Trio in 1994, Lyman discovered a passion for jazz that has driven his career. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Ball State University, Muncie, IN then continued his education at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI where he earned a Master of Music in 2000. Lyman flourished at Western. During his time there he earned Outstanding Student Performer awards from the Notre Dame Jazz Festival and Downbeat magazine. He also won the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo’s Emerging Artist Grant, and was awarded a full fellowship to attend the prestigious Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, CA during the summers of 1999 and 2000.
Lyman relocated to Los Angeles in late 2000 and quickly became a well-known presence in the area working with artists such as Plas Johnson, Byron Stripling, Shelly Berg, N’Dugu Chancellor, Kenny Rankin, Mike Melvoin, Greg Field, Bill Cunliffe, Patti Austin, Michael Feinstein, and Mary Clayton.
In September of 2001, he joined the band of Columbia recording artist Steve Tyrell and has been touring with the popular vocalist ever since. With Tyrell he has shared the stage with many world-class musicians including Randy Brecker, Jim Rotundi, Ryan Kisor, Warren Vache, John Guerin, Tom Brechtline, Lou Marini, Jane Monheit, Monica Mancini, Karrin Allyson, and the Nashville Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Houston Symphony, and the Boston Pops.
In the summer of 2003, Lyman toured with vocal sensation and Warner Bros. Recording artist Michael Buble. That tour took him around the world performing in Africa, Australia, Europe, and Southeast Asia. The experience is documented on the young singer’s 2004 CD/DVD Come Fly With Me.
In 2005 he played in both Moscow and Tokyo with Tyrell and in the summer of 2006 he performed with the vocalist throughout Europe playing festivals in Istanbul, Turkey; Montreaux, Switzerland; Vitoria, Spain; San Javier, Spain; and Nairn, Scotland. Throughout his extensive touring, he has played on some the world’s most renowned stages including Birdland and the Blue Note in New York City, the Blue Note Tokyo, the Blue Note Milan, Ronnie Scott’s in London, the House of Blues in Chicago, Yoshi’s in San Francisco, and the Hollywood Bowl, Catalina’s, and the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. He also appears on Tyrell’s 2008 Koch release Back to Bacharach.
While he loves working in the world of vocal standards, Lyman’s style and influences are as diverse as his background. He’s been influenced by a wide array of bassists including Paul Chambers, Ray Brown, Christian McBride, Bootsy Collins, Jaco Pastorious, George Porter Jr. and Ron Carter. His debut album The Funky Supervillain was released late 2005 and features acclaimed jazz musicians Lew Soloff, Tom Brechtlein, Steve Cotter, Chris Wabich, and Lorca Hart. Bass World magazine proclaims the record is “ … an ambitious undertaking with terrific results” and “a fantastic debut CD.”
In 2005 Lyman’s alma mater Ball State University awarded him an Alumni Citation of Achievement for his success in the field of music.
