Veteran vocalist and performer Mavis John has been a fixture on the local and regional music scene for years, captivating audiences with her renditions of jazz and blues standards and breathing new life into calypso hits by inviting listeners to experience them through a jazz and soul lens.
The genre-bending singer’s unmistakable voice has graced the airwaves and stages at home and abroad for decades, and her work in music and theater has left quite a mark on the entertainment industry.
John spoke with Loop News about her long career, her optimism for today’s music industry and the inextricable connection between her creativity and spirituality.
Her soulful voice found its sweet spot in jazz and blues music, two of the styles in which she feels most comfortable.
“[Jazz and blues] attracted me; I wasn’t looking for them,” she said, explaining that she allows herself to be driven by a creative energy that transcends genres, giving her the freedom to express what she wants to say from a genuine place.
“Sometimes you can’t always put your finger on it – you just have to go with it.”
She said that as a black woman in the field, people call her a jazz singer, but she considers herself a singer who does jazz.
Explaining that there is something about blues music, a real comfort in the slowness of the style that creates a contemplative mood, John expressed her love of the blues for its ability to express depth and melancholy.
It is this influence that is clearly reflected in John’s songs such as the Oliver Chapman-penned torch-bearer How Can I Love Again?, released in 1980.
John’s acclaimed 2001 album, Mavis Sings, offers some of this style, along with a further sampling of the artist’s wide range of artistic expression, as she slides from jazz calypso to pop ballads with ease , featuring selections such as “Morena Osha” and “Education” that are a nod to the late legends Andre Tanker and Mighty Sparrow respectively.
The album, which spans decades of John’s releases—from 1977’s You Are What Love Is (her duet with the late Dave Elcock) and the 9/11 tribute Release the Dove—brought for a resurgence of interest in the singer’s work and exposed her to a younger audience that may not have been as familiar with her earlier music.
Jazz, though born in African-American communities, has since made its way around the world, finding itself adapted, fused with respective cultures, and taking on a life of its own. The Caribbean is one such place where jazz has developed its own unique way of expression using our rhythms, melodies and speaking style.
Referring to her renditions of jazz songs within a Caribbean context, John said: “When I perform music in another area, sometimes our pronunciation is a little different, or the volume, or the tone, and that’s the performer’s job. to breathe life into the notes, using an improvisational approach that is driven primarily by emotion and connection to the music. I just interpret it as I see it and feel it,” she explained.
Over the years, John has worked with many artists, directors, writers and producers, and has spoken highly of these people’s contributions to her growing body of work.
When asked about the collaborations that have stood out to him the most, John said that even something as simple as a solo studio recording is, in itself, a collaboration, a connection of energy and spirit, and as such, she has collaborated for most of her life.
John recalled fond memories of working with poet, playwright and cultural activist Eintou Pearl Springer for Shades of I-She: Every Woman’s StorySpringer’s woman-centric opus premiered in 1996, for which John took home a Cacique Award for Best Original Score that same year.
“Eintou Springer is a real jazz fan,” John said. “She did the poetry and I did the music. I love when music comes from its embryonic stages and you have to take it and build on it. While doing covers, I always enjoyed working with a new piece of music, bringing it to life and interpreting it in my own way.”
While John has certainly made the concert stage her home, she is equally at home in the theater and has had featured and starring roles in plays for decades. She has worked with Sir Derek Walcott and composer Galt MacDermot (Marie LaVeau1979; Steel2005), Dr Efebo Wilkinson (Bitter cassava2016) and Davlin Thomas (Hill of Aripo2010).
However, John remains humble, protesting the addition of “actress” to her resume due to the fact that most of her lines are delivered in song.
However, John’s impact on theater, whether on stage or in the creator’s chair, is certainly felt by those who experience this aspect of her work.
At 76, John shows no signs of slowing down, recording and performing regularly and keen to take her career in new directions, namely trying her hand at Christmas music later this year and performing for Carnival.
“I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to sing in a carnival truck… it is [on my]…bucket list,” she revealed.
Next year, John should be able to cross this off her list after a performance with veteran masman Peter Samuel excrete AND Cyber Nation with his band, Kinetic Mas Carnival.
“Normally I’d do it with Etienne Charles, but this is easier on my knees,” she joked.
John commented on the progress she has seen in the music industry in terms of the number of shows available and the opportunities for upcoming artists to improve their skills and earn an income.
“There was a period where you had shows every now and then,” she said, adding that these days, there are “just tons and tons.”
John said she feels proud when she observes the current generation of performers, whom she praised for doing all genres of music and for keeping the post-pandemic music scene “going and pumping.”
“I have great admiration for young people – young people are taking chances and doing things,” she said.
John explained that her personal faith is what has influenced her creativity and brought about the realization that the source of inspiration for performers must surely be divine.
“No one can do that unless they have some kind of spiritual guidance,” she said. “I can’t say I can put my finger on it… but it’s there.”
While John is humbled by the recognition she receives, she also remains amazed at how her fulfilling career has unfolded.
The performer, who also spent years as a teacher at Morvant Government Primary School, is overwhelmed with gratitude for the presence of those who have supported her throughout her life and believes that gratitude and humility are more important than titles and accolades.
“Icons and legends are things that people donate. I always think these have a lot to do with aging in business,” she joked. “I’ll admit that, but it’s not something I’d say I created.”
Adding that she wasn’t always the bravest singer, John said: “I always say that God, in his wisdom, gave me the opportunity to do this and I just want to say thank you to everyone who was part of my development. . If I’m a legend, well, thank God, I don’t know what your plans are, but I’ll go with it.”
Check out the new video for John’s 2021 single “Release the Dove” here link and see Mavis John at Facebook.
