"Frenzy" is an original composition by vocalist, composer, and arranger Michael Mayo, released on his 2024 album Fly on Mack Avenue Records. The piece originated as a riff Mayo developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, later shaped into a full composition for the album. Its evocative character conveys shifting imagery of nature and landscapes, progressing like scenery passing by, with a dynamic, panoramic quality that builds and transforms throughout. The tune is notable for featuring Mayo playing guitar for the first time on a recording, adding textural depth alongside his layered vocals. The arrangement on Fly pairs Mayo's voice, backing vocals, and guitar with Shai Maestro on piano, Linda May Han Oh on electric bass, and Nate Smith on drums, creating a rich sonic tapestry. Mayo wrote the tune at home after relocating from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in October 2023, as part of a concentrated creative period leading into the Fly sessions, which were recorded in just two days at Fly Bunker Studio in Brooklyn in January 2024. His compositional approach on the piece reflects the album's overarching themes of lightness, flight, and freedom, while drawing on influences from Bobby McFerrin to Herbie Hancock. As one of Mayo's bold originals on an album that also reinterprets jazz classics, "Frenzy" remains a deep cut primarily associated with his own recording, with no known cover versions to date.
