When Mavis John performs at Port-of-Spain City Hall this evening, at Guitars and Tenors in Harmony III, she plans to give a special show, especially as Mother’s Day is on Sunday, and she is celebrating a birthday on May 16.
Embraced as a “darling” of song in the Caribbean, John began her career at the age of 16 and, not long after, was dubbed the region’s “Soul Queen,” having released popular singles like Come By Here Boy, The Sun Didn't Shine, We Are Gonna Make It and I’ll Be Your Friend.
Subsequently she recorded You Are What Love Is with her husband Dave Elcock, a single which went viral and catapulted the couple to Caribbean fame and stardom.
As a solo recording artiste, in November 2001, John released her Mavis Sings CD, still considered a collector’s item. Described as “a journey of jazz and kaiso,” the CD consisted of musical gems like Sparrow’s Education; Gregory “GB” Ballantyne’s Calypso Rising; plus her composition The Time Is Now. Mavis Sings also included hit-bound singles like Tony Wilson’s Will We Make It? and Andre Tanker’s Slipping Away.
From Jamaica to Guyana, John has won acclaim and has shared the stage with renowned international music crooners like Carla Thomas, Eddie Grant, Jean Knights and Percy Sledge. Her bio also includes critical acclaim for the collaboration she did with icon Pearl Eintou Springer, adding her voice to Springer’s poems.
The theatre beckoned John in the ’80s and she sang and performed in Derek Walcott’s Marie La Veau; A Nancy Story, produced by Trinidad Theatre Workshop, and, under the direction of Helen Camps, graced the stage of the Little Carib Theatre in Cinderama.
John also played a major part in the staging of the epic Shades of I-She, in the ’90s.
These past few years, John has established herself as a top-drawer jazz artiste, performing in major jazz events in the Caribbean as well as North America. She has performed in the St Vincent & The Grenadines Blues Festival and St Kitts Music Festival, top-billed with top artistes like Jeffrey Osbourne, The Temptations, The Manhattans, Ashanti, Shaggy and Third World.
John is a truly natural Caribbean talent who continues to hone her craft, producing emotional reactions from the patrons at all of her performances.
With her last performance being last month, at a new venue in Santa Cruz called Drew Manor, many still fondly remember her stirring performance in March at the inauguration ceremony for President Anthony Carmona.
Commenting on that showing, John said this week: “That was a fulfilling performance and experience. Whatever inspiration I’d gotten to do Marjorie Padmore’s God Bless Our Nation, the reaction I’ve gotten every time I perform it means it was worth it. And that composition is considered our nation’s ‘second’ national anthem.”
So, what does birthday girl John plan to do on her special day? “I think I’ll be spending a very very quiet birthday,” revealed the songstress.
“I intend going to see The King & I in San Fernando, as my grandson has a part in this production, so that’s going to be special.
“I am also looking forward to an all-fours game at my home. All-fours is part of the DNA of T&T and every Trini should learn to play the game.”
Apart from Mavis John, Guitars and Tenors in Harmony III will also feature crackshot pannists Dane Gulston and Noel La Pierre, and calypsonians Mr Versatile and Abebele.
Tickets are available at Cleve, Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain; Crosby’s Music Centre, WMR, St James; Simon’s Music, St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain; African Trophies, Tragarete Road, Newtown; and Studio 66, Sixth Street, Barataria.