On her Chiaroscuro CD of 1996, Virginia Mayhew displays mature sounds on each of her reeds and a strong improvising style that builds from the tradition but has plenty of spontaneity and chance-taking; she also shows strong talent as a composer. Mayhew started on clarinet when she was ten and six years later switched to alto to join her high school jazz band. When she was 20, she moved to San Francisco, where she gained experience studying and playing locally (including with Earl Hines and Frank Zappa). In 1987, she won the New School's first annual Zoot Sims Memorial Scholarship and relocated to New York. Since then, Mayhew has worked with trumpeter Rebecca Franks (they co-led a quintet that played at the 1990 Monterey Jazz Festival and recorded a 1988 date for the Italian Philology label), the Toshiko Akiyoshi Orchestra, the Sahib Shihab big band, Al Grey (she appears on his Capri CD Fab), Clark Terry, Terry Gibbs, Kenny Barron, and DIVA, among others. In addition to being an educator and a skilled arranger, Virginia Mayhew has frequently led her own groups. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide