Musicians: Virginia Mayhew (tenor saxophone), Kenny Wessell (guitar), Harvie S (bass),
Victor Jones (drums), Lisa Parnott (alto/baritone saxophone), Scott Harrell
(trumpet/flugelhorn), Noah Bless (trombone), and guest musicians percussionist -
Mayra Casales and trumpeter - Ingrid Jensen.
Review: Sometimes an artist’s album seems like they took the driver’s seat and hit the gas pedal, jet-skiing and popping wheelies down the track, taking on obstacles without any hesitation and pushing their skills to the brink. This is what A Simple Thank You by the Virginia Mayhew Septet feels like, as if classic jazz saxophonist Virginia Mayhew had missed out on something in the past and wanted to hold nothing back on this recording. At some point she saw the checkered flag go down and off she went kicking up dust in her wake. A Simple Thank You is Mayhew’s fifth album and the first since undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Now cancer-free, Mayhew is back in step showing a bit more spark and perkiness in her playing.
Produced by Mayhew and co-produced by Amy Hirsch, the album features six-original tracks by Virginia, an interpretation of Thelonious Monk’s “Rhythm-a-ning,” a rendition of Mayhew’s bass player Harvie S’s track “A Simple Thank You,” and one number, “Just A Blues,” written by Mike Mayhall. Performing in Mayhew’s septet is guitarist Kenny Wessell, bassist Harvie S, drummer Victor Jones, alto/baritone saxophonist Lisa Parnott, trumpeter/flugelhornist Scott Harrell, trombonist Noah Bless, and Virginia on tenor saxophone making seven. Guest musicians include percussionist Mayra Casales and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. When everyone is brought together, it is like one giant jamming session where piling on the layers of instrument parts makes the songs uber celebratory.
The Virginia Mayhew Septet’s use of classic jazz shades on tracks like “Just a Blues” and “One For The Parking Fairy” are salted by frisky horns and staggering cymbal strikes which produce dynamic twirls that fizzle and dash in sequential order. The Brazilian-tasseled bossa nova movements of “One For the Parking Fairy” are complimented by jive-ilicious horn sections. Mayhew tells in the liner notes how the title of the track came to her, “I didn’t have a name for this tune and was driving around trying to park for a gig. I finally thought, ‘If the Parking Fairy gives me a space, I’ll name this one for her,’ and presto, a parking space.” I thought her narration was worth sharing.
The smoother shades in the classic jazz embers of “Spring Is Not Here” and the title track create a laid-back ambience shrouded in delicate swirling horns and dainty reclining rhythmic movements. The extemporaneous improvs of “Rhythm-a-ning” are fluted in cool riding rhythms and post-bop textured horn angles and cross-overs. The post-bop patinas are kept up in the proceeding track “Apple Flambe” with rich solos performed by Bless, Harvie S, and Mayhew. The blues-jazz textures of “I Thought You Loved Me” are solemn with a dreamy portamento congeal, but the Septet spice it up on the final two tracks, “Live Your Life” and “Sandan Shuffle” with the guitar and rhythm sections making a shambles topped by a beret of flashy horns.
The Virginia Mayhew Septet, which was formed in 2005, adheres to a “little big band” concept with contemporary adjustments on classic jazz briskets. Virginia Mayhew tells in a press release, “The Septet incorporates my long-time passions for Big Band jazz, Latin music, composition, and improvisation…It’s a fresh, exciting and swingin’ combination.”
Originally from San Francisco, Mayhew appeared on the New York City jazz scene in 1987, while studying at the New School. She has traveled twice as a State Department-designated “Jazz Ambassador” to independent states in the former Soviet Union and to Southeast Asia. Additionally, Virginia is Musical Director and saxophonist of the 9-piece Duke Ellington Legacy. Her septet’s latest offering A Simple Thank You shows Virginia to have a formidable and affable presence that has been associated with the likes of Pharoah Sanders and Albert Ayler. A Simple Thank You gives the listener the impression that Virginia Mayhew went out for a drive and came back home with material for this album. Her finger tussles move fast and swift taking the listener on a whirlwind ride, but she always return to home base.
Tracks: Just A Blues, One For The Parking Fairy, Spring Is Not Here, A Simple Thank You, Rhythm-a-ning, Apple Flambe, I Thought You Loved Me, Live Your Life, Sandan Shuffle
JazzReview.com
