Renma Recordings President and saxophonist Virginia Mayhew is pleased to announce that she has joined the roster of teaching artists at Litchfield Jazz Camp. Under the artistic direction of saxophonist, composer, arranger and educator Don Braden, the camp hosts resident artists and guest clinicians who are at the top of their game.

Litchfield Jazz Camp runs from July 6th through August 1st on the campus of the Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut. This lovely setting is just a block from the sophisticated downtown of one of America's most visited 18th century villages -- a great place for friends and relatives to check out when visiting students.



Litchfield Jazz Camp's Music Director, Don Braden, and his resident artists guide students through classes in performance, improvisation, jazz history, rhythm and percussion, music theory, the business of music, composition, a two-week recording intensive and a newly added American Songbook workshop. Instruction is offered in voice, piano, guitar, bass, drums, Latin rhythms, saxophones, clarinet, flute, and brass. Evening jam sessions and resident and visiting artist concerts are a bonus, and families are invited to attend.

For more info about the Litchfield Jazz Camp & Festival visit:
www.litchfieldjazzfest.com.

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NEWS | SPRING 2008
 Duke Ellington Legacy Band Releases Debut Recording "Thank You Uncle Edward"

The Duke Ellington Legacy's debut album "Thank You Uncle Edward", available March 18 on Renma Recordings, is an important contribution to the preservation of the timeless music from the songbook of the hallowed composer - arranger - bandleader Duke Ellington. Legacy leader-saxophonist Virginia Mayhew calls the recording "a testament to the greatness and adaptability of Ellington's music." This stirring tribute, rooted in the past, but of the present moment, is everything Mayhew says and more: It's also a personal thank-you from Legacy guitarist Edward Kennedy Ellington II to his beloved grandfather (who preferred being called "uncle", it made him feel younger).

Nine impressive musicians grace the album: Pianist Norman Simmons, vocalist Nancy Reed, special guests trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, and baritone saxophonist-bass clarinetist Joe Temperley, Edward K. Ellington II and Mayhew, along with bassist Tom DiCarlo, drummer Paul Wells, and trumpeter Mark McGowan.

Simmons and Mayhew have conscientiously prepared vital, warm-hearted arrangements that encourage the players to find fresh jazz expression in standards and lesser-known Ellingtonia. Simmons is responsible for eight ("Pretty Woman", "Caravan", "Mainstem", "Day Dream", "Isfahan", "Cottontail", "Moon Mist", "Come Sunday") and Mayhew arranged three ("Perdido", "In a Sentimental Mood", and her song "Toe Tickler"). The Legacy musicians know better than to try to replicate the inimitable Ellington style, and instead use the material as the vehicle in which to champion their own predilections and personalities.

Duke Ellington took to heart advice he offered others: "When you write, write something that sounds good." A fresh take on "Caravan" has singer Reed and the instrumentalists striking a fine balance between finesse and excitement. "Come Sunday" -- one of the central themes to the "Black" segment of the great Black, Brown & Beige tone poem -- has quiet depth thanks to the clear, heartfelt narrative line Reed and Temperley (on baritone) deliver. The Legacy players swing from their heels on "Perdido," the Juan Tizol song made famous by Duke Ellington -- Mayhew's tenor solo, in particular, has striking dramatic definition.

Legacy always delivers the goods -- whether it's the standard, "In A Sentimental Mood," gone south-of-the-border in their adaptation, or a lesser-known delight like the blues "Pretty Woman." The band performs Mercer Ellington's (Edward's father), "Moon Mist" with a meticulously controlled grace. Mayhew's tribute to Lester Young, "Toe Tickler" is a fiery up-tempo romp, the virtues of swing shouted out in fine solos by, respectively, Mayhew, Gordon, McGowan, and Wells. Note the thrust of the rhythm section.

Edward Kennedy Ellington II, played guitar and traveled with his grandfather's (uncle's) mighty orchestra then his father's edition of the orchestra after Duke Ellington's passing in 1974. He befriended Mayhew upon her arrival in NYC in 1987, and in 2004 he and the saxophone player started acting on their idea of forming a band that would highlight Ellington music. It's important to Edward that young musicians be exposed to his grandfather's music, and he has been involved with school ensembles as a Musician-in-Residence at the Providence, Rhode Island's Moses Brown School, a private school founded in 1784.

Norman Simmons has been an important member of the international jazz community since the 1950s. He has performed with greats like Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Roy Eldridge, Carmen McRae, Johnny Griffin, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and myriad other titans plus hundreds of merely mortal jazz musicians. He has taught at NYC's New School, William Patterson University in New Jersey, and Jazzmobile.

Virginia Mayhew ranks among the best jazz saxophonists today, leading her own Septet and Quartet in addition to working with Duke Ellington Legacy and Claudio Roditi's band and making music with so many other premium players the past two decades. She's circled the globe playing festivals and concerts, and also stays active as a jazz educator and head of the Renma Recordings label.

Vocalist Nancy Reed has extensive credits including work with Phil Woods and Slide Hampton. She's a member of the highly regarded band fronted by David Leonhardt in Pennsylvania. Bassist Tom DiCarlo is both a working musician (he's kept company with Don Braden, Ralph Bowen, many more) and a music educator at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. Paul Wells played drums with Joe Williams in the 1990s and is a first-call NYC-based freelancer for the likes of Eric Alexander, Mark Murphy, and Larry Goldings. Mark McGowan's trumpet has been heard with the Illinois Jacquet Big Band, Lionel Hampton's band, and, among others, the Village Vanguard Orchestra. Guest players Joe Temperley and Wycliffe Gordon are universally hailed regulars at the top or near the top of the major jazz polls. [back to main news page]

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