Though the booklet for
Irvin Mayfield's debut CD as a leader proclaims "The Anatomy of a Revolutionary," the young trumpeter sounds very much like a follower here, another in the never-ending parade of neo-boppers from New Orleans.
Mayfield sports a lightweight, brilliantly articulated tone, no doubt capable of every imaginable technical feat, but he remains a captive of influences like
Lee Morgan,
Wynton Marsalis, and
Miles Davis (interestingly, he sounds more like
Morgan on "The Great M.D." than
Davis). The most energetic cut, "Immaculate Conception," skitters around in post-bop energy, though all we hear are rapid, uncoalesced notes from
Mayfield. The by-now-seasoned
Donald Harrison displays a more developed sense of how to shape a phrase on alto sax;
Peter Martin contributes standard post-bop piano.
Reuben Rogers on bass and
Adonis Rose on drums make up the accomplished hard/post-bop rhythm section on most of the album while
Victor Atkins (piano),
Jaz Sawyer and
Troy Davis (drums), and David Pulphus (bass) can be heard in various combinations elsewhere. Also, patriarch
Ellis Marsalis lays his anointing hands upon
Mayfield in a respectful piano-trumpet duet on "Body and Soul"; the inexperience of youth leads to a passage where
Mayfield nearly gets stuck.
Mayfield might turn into a revolutionary yet, but not as of 1999. ~ Richard S. Ginell