Gray Mayfield Trio, by Renee Williams
Prior to moving to Augusta in 2007, jazz saxophonist and music educator, Gray Mayfield worked with modern dance choreography and artistic director, Garth Fagan where he learned the process of leadership and the freedom in discipline.
With this knowledge, Mayfield formed the Gray Mayfield Trio in Augusta and his work has taken on a triple focus of getting younger musicians together, preserving the genre of jazz and focusing on providing more spaces where music can be enjoyed to enrich the downtown landscape.
After GMT's first performance, Mayfield realized there was something else bigger going on so he decided to call the band "Gettin Musicians Together for Real Time, GMT:RealX and the project has turned into a full fledged jazz outreach program in the Augusta area.
Along with Mayfield, GMT: RealX is comprised of 17 year old bassist Brad Cannata, 19 year old drummer Stephanie Phillips and 22 year old Charles Garrett who will perform the music of Cameo, Joe Henderson, Russell Gunn, Miles Davis, Slave, Frankie Beverly, Roy Hargove and RH Factor on Dec 17 at Tribeca, 968 Broad St and then on Jan 11 at the Soul Bar, 984 Broad St.
Recently, Mayfield spoke to the Augusta Chronicle about the scope and mission of the jazz outreach project.
AC: Wynton Marsalis said, "jazz music is America's past and its potential, summed up and sanctified and accessible to anybody who learns to listen to, feel, and understand it...." Do you agree with this idea and can you elaborate?
GM: Jazz is definitely America’s past, present and future. The music is very much accessible to anybody who is willing to listen. I remember Wynton Marsalis used to say, "if you want to understand art, you must go to it. It will not come to you." That was a serious statement to me. At that point, I knew that what I wanted to be great at was going to require a lot of research, practicing, listening and playing. I have met some of the greatest musicians and educators and the process is a life long journey that will always have its challenges and rewards.
AC: How do you teach someone to learn to listen to, feel and understand jazz?
GM: In general, I usually suggest that students and musicians listen to the masters of their instrument and try to comprehend it from a chronological order. That way they will understand the progression of jazz from brass band, ragtime, blues, swing era, bebop era, free jazz movement to the current state of jazz today. The art form is a true survivor. If I see a young trumpet player at a jam session, I would ask him to name five great trumpet players that he listens to or one that he has transcribed a solo from. Regardless of his sound, technique or improvisational skills, I can tell immediately if that player has a reference point or understands the vocabulary just by the way he or she sounds...I always recommend that a student of music learn the music straight from the source instead of relying on sheet music to interpret the music. A student must listen to actual recordings and try to learn from that just like all other musicians learn music of different genres...I try to inform students how to listen to music by having them learn the melody and solo of their particular instrument if possible.
AC: Can you tell our readers more about the inception of GMT: RealX and how you chose to work with Cannata, Phillips and Garrett?
GM: I wanted to find a rhythm section, as it is the foundation and wanted to have sessions at my house for younger musicians so after attending several jam sessions at Jazz Soiree (the monthly jam session hosted by Garden City Jazz), I finally got Brad and Step to come over one by one and then eventually as a unit. I never told them what I wanted to do. Only Karen Gordon knew that it was going to be something totally different than anything I have ever done. As I started to jam with them at my house, I could hear how their individual sound could be enhanced through playing jazz standards, pop tunes and R&B.
AC: Can you tell readers more about the members involved in the project?
GM: Brad Cannata is a student at Davidson Fine Arts school. Born in Killeen TX, Cannata began playing bass at 12 and started on percussion at 11. Many in the Augusta community recognize him as the bass/guitar player from JAMP, but he has been a member of the All State Band as a percussionist and bassist and selected for the Governors Honors program as a Jazz Major. Cannata also plays in the DFA Symphonic and Jazz bands and performs in a group called POOSE, comprised of current and former DFA students.
Stephanie Phillips is 19 years old and attends Augusta University as a Music Performance Major studying classical percussion. Stephanie started out in church as a drummer and began to learn about jazz music in high school. She is an Augusta native, Davidson Fine Arts High School graduate, Music Scholarship Recipient and has traveled internationally to China with the jazz band at Augusta University. Additionally, she has been featured with the LADIES OF JAZZ in the Folly Beach Jazz Festival and has studied drums with Edwin G. Hamilton and Chris Burroughs.
Charles Garrett is 22, born in Augusta and began to play drums at the age of 3 in church and has now ventured out to explore other genres of music. Garrett’s early experience was as a low brass player in various school bands and he received numerous accolades as he grew into a top percussionist during high school. He is steadily growing as a player and plans to attend USC at Aiken next year.
AC: You explained that vocalist Karen Gordon has been vital to this experience. Can you explain her role?
GM: Yes, daily I would speak with Karen about being able to develop a unique trio sound that would provide the opportunity to learn how to develop artistry in “real time” which is on the bandstand or at a gig. We started rehearsing consistently and focused on tunes that had a groove or something that was not challenging to perform...I would suggest certain tunes to focus on and ask the kids to learn as much as possible from the recordings selected so that they would have a reference point of how the music should sound. I used charts on John Coltrane’s Giant Steps and Joe Henderson's Inner Urge because those are difficult progressions to learn by ear. However, what is unique to the learning process is being able to present the song effectively as a trio unit...I kept thinking about how I could continue to push the envelope and improve the experience for these kids. I spoke with Gordon about the idea of bringing an international artist to play with GMT:RealX and Gordon provided the venue. I reached out to Grammy Nominee jazz and hip hop artist, Russell Gunn to perform with us at the Straight A Jazz Concert Series at Augusta University. I had played with Gunn before and I knew if I told him what I was doing with the young kids that he would be more than supportive of the cause...I wanted the kids to have the opportunity to play with a professional musician who is internationally known and develop their skills and musicianship role in this particular setting which again prepared them for a true professional experience on a high profile gig.
AC: Can you tell me more about your connection with the multi-talented Gordon family?
GM: I met Wycliffe Gordon when I first heard him play with Wynton Marsalis's Septet. While I was playing in New Orleans, I would run into Gordon at various performances. In '95 while living in Rochester, NY, Wycliffe brought me to Augusta to perform on a Christmas concert at the Imperial Theatre. It was then that I got a chance to meet his family and other local musicians in this community. I first worked for Karen Gordon in 2007 for the Candlelight Jazz series. It was not until 2015, during Masters Week that Karen and I began to talk about jazz, education, downtown Augusta and building a community. I always go to Karen when I have an idea because I know she understands Augusta very well. She is my go to person whenever I have a question about presenting something. I am fortunate to work with both Karen and Wycliffe. At the end of the day, they are family to me. That is what it is all about about to me, connecting with people and finding and creating a community that inspires one another.
Choosing improvisation over structure, performer over composer and experience over convention, GMT:RealX has
embarked on new territory to bring the full fledged artistry of jazz to the community. As one of the most exciting and innovative jazz programs in the area, GMT:Real X combines an education in the history of jazz along with the traditions of the music with unparalleled professionalism designed to integrate listeners into a thriving jazz environment. The key part of GMT: Real X is to provide a special growth experience of allowing young musicians to share the bandstand side by side with the professionals with whom they will become colleagues in the future. Fostering emerging talent and creating an atmosphere of activity and productivity, Mayfield and GMT: Real X is making the local scene a viable professional option for young musicians.
