| Soul Jazz |
Forget the previous album *Bones*, released in 2021 (and which I talked to you about here). With this new album *Fly*, Michael Mayo offers a much more classical album that brings him, in some respects, closer to a group like The Manhattan Transfer. He uses various vocal techniques that sometimes make him sound like a double bass or other instruments. Here’s how Michael Mayo describes his new album:
“As improvisers, we sometimes talk about leaving space and following our second or third instinct,” he notes. “Lately, I’ve been trying to challenge myself to follow my first instinct and see what comes out of it. *Fly* was a fun experiment in that sense. There were different emotional areas I wanted to explore, but I started a lot of these sounds with improvisation and followed that thread. I tend to overthink things. I decided to stop that before it even started. I didn’t rush, but I treated everything with a certain immediacy, which goes against my overthinker nature. For me, this album has a ‘let’s go’ feel.”
His ideas and voice are likely the product of a Los Angeles upbringing, where music literally surrounded him. As a highly sought-after backing vocalist, his mother shone alongside Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, and Whitney Houston. Meanwhile, his father not only sang but also played saxophone for Earth, Wind & Fire, and brass for artists like Sérgio Mendes. Among his most vivid memories, Michael recalls being “backstage, watching Mom and Dad perform, and seeing them in their element.” With such examples that shaped his artistic fiber, it was inevitable that young Michael Mayo, once grown, would only need to experiment with his vocal abilities and find his own voice in this art form. That’s how his inimitable style was born, earning him his success.
From my perspective, the title *Fly* tries to bridge the gap between the previous album and this one. It is more refined, more classical, but no less inventive. It delves deeper into his sensitivity, less festive, bringing his voice closer to instrumental forms, sometimes playing in the register of a double bass, saxophone, or trumpet, for example. In October 2023, Michael Mayo moved from Brooklyn to L.A. Finding his rhythm, he wrote most of what would become *Fly* at home. In January 2024, he retreated to the Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, recording the album in just two days with pianist Shai Maestro, bassist Linda May Han Oh (on double bass and electric bass), and the inescapable drummer Nate Smith. Together, the musicians tapped into their incredible chemistry during the sessions, giving the music depth, strength, and soul, rooted in their performances.
So, indeed, it’s an album full of nuances that has been constructed. After several listens, it seems to me that this album answers some reviews I read about the previous one, judging Michael Mayo as “too modern.” In simple terms, the artist responds in two ways: by offering a relatively classical album to say, “Look, I can do this too,” but far beyond this consideration, this second album is deeply infused with the artist’s style that we love. *Fly* is a poetic work, whereas *Bones* was a Dalinian work. There’s no comparison to be made, just acceptance of Michael Mayo’s offering, who, with this album, becomes a regular in the pile of records we consider “Indispensable!”
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, September 23rd 2024
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