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Michael Mayo

Michael Mayo began forging his musical identity long before he hit the stage. The son of two successful musicians, the Los Angeles native grew up just a little more than 20 feet from the likes of Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Earth Wind and Fire and Stevie Wonder. This proximity helped Mayo create a musical path centered around the innovative elements of R&B and Jazz.

After receiving his Bachelor’s from the New England Conservatory of Music, Mayo attended the acclaimed Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, only the third vocalist to be accepted into the 20-year-old program, where he learned from Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Luciana Souza.

Mayo, now living in New York City, is a veteran international performer whose highlights include singing at the White House, the Kennedy Center and Renée Fleming’s American Voices Festival, as well as the Panama Jazz Festival. Most recently he has collaborated or shared the stage with Herbie Hancock, Kneebody, Gretchen Parlato, Christian Sands, Josh Groban, Ben Wendel, Becca Stevens, and Theo Bleckmann among many others.

Whether he is performing with a full big band, a rhythm section or alone with a looper pedal, Mayo’s classic vocal style commands the attention of listeners worldwide.

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Album Review

Caili O'Doherty: Bluer Than Blue

Read "Bluer Than Blue" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Pianist and arranger Caili O'Doherty has carved out a niche as both an incisive interpreter of the jazz tradition and an innovator unafraid to reshape it. With Bluer Than Blue, she turns her keen musical intellect toward the underappreciated Lil Hardin Armstrong, a trailblazing composer, pianist, and bandleader whose influence has long lingered in the shadows of her more famous husband Louis Armstrong. O'Doherty doesn't merely recreate Hardin's music; she reimagines it for the 21st Century with bold harmonies, time ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Mayo, Ramamurthy, Fedchock, Novoa And More

Read "Mayo, Ramamurthy, Fedchock, Novoa And More" reviewed by Bob Osborne


A selection of brand new jazz releases kicks off with a wonderful vocal performance from Los Angeles based Michael Mayo. The debut on Greenleaf from Arun Ramamurthy Trio presents musical practitioners at the height of their craft, seamlessly blending Carnatic traditions with jazz, pushing both genres forward in exciting ways. There is also music from the legendary Headhunters and lots more music from USA, Canada, Australia, and Greece.Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Michael Mayo “Spring Can Really Hang You ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Michael Mayo, Mary Stallings, Kurt Elling and More

Read "Michael Mayo, Mary Stallings, Kurt Elling and More" reviewed by Jua Howard


Welcome Music Family! It's time for another episode of the “First Instrument Jazz Show"! As usual, I've got a great show in store for you including a lot of new music from Kurt Elling, Michael Mayo, Jocelyn Gould, Sachal Vasandani, and Samara Joy; and plenty more timeless music from artists such as Mary Stallings, Laurie Antonioli, Ben Williams, and Maysa. Come get lost in the music with me!Playlist Intro 00:00 Michael Mayo “Four" from Fly (Mack Avenue) 3:14 ...

3
Radio & Podcasts

Michael Mayo, Nicole Mitchell, Leslie Pintchik and More

Read "Michael Mayo, Nicole Mitchell, Leslie Pintchik and More" reviewed by Hobart Taylor


New music from Michael Mayo, Nicole Mitchell with Ballake Sissoko, Leslie Pintchik and more.Playlist Alice Zawadzki “Za Górami" from Za Górami (ECM) 0:00 Ben Solomon “Echolocation “ from Echolocation (Giant Step Arts) 6:41 Kris Davis “Subtones" from Run the Gauntlet (Pyroclastic) 16:39 Host Speaks 21:43 Michael Dease “The Stray Moonduck" from Found In Space (Origin) 22:43 Hyeseon Hong “Dance With Dracula" from Things Will Pass (Pacific Coast Jazz) 29:10 Michael Mayo “Frenzy" from Fly (Mack Avenue) 36:30 Michael ...

Album Review

Cory Smythe: Accelerate Every Voice

Read "Accelerate Every Voice" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro


Un vivace, originale intreccio di voci, diremmo più di matrice contemporanea che strettamente jazzistica (questa costola respira semmai soprattutto nel pianismo del leader Cory Smythe), anima questo stimolante lavoro, in cui anche l'elettronica gioca un suo ruolo, per quanto discreto. Lo compongono otto apprezzabilissimi brani brevi (il più lungo supera di poco i cinque minuti) e uno, invece, molto ampio (diciannove), logorroico e dispersivo, che purtroppo deturpa e disperde in buona parte quanto di buono, spesso di ottimo, lo precede, ...

8
Album Review

Nate Smith: Kinfolk 2: See The Birds

Read "Kinfolk 2: See The Birds" reviewed by Mark Corroto


If there were brick & mortar establishments called record stores today, one could imagine the challenge Nate Smith's Kinfolk projects would pose for an employee trying to file his latest releases. Those familiar with the drummer's work in the bands of Chris Potter, Dave Holland, or Alex Sipiagin might place the discs in the jazz section, but then again he's worked with the jazz/pop/soul singers José James and Norah Jones and he heads up the funk/soul band The Fearless Flyers. ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Michael Mayo: Living Without Labels

Read "Michael Mayo: Living Without Labels" reviewed by Leo Sidran


Virtuosic singer-composer Michael Mayo on managing his relationship with social media, which he describes as finding the “balance between staying sane and being seen," the subtle space between practice and performance, live looping, bi erasure, the “syllables discussion" in jazz singing, generational trauma, his debut record Bones, discernment, and living a life authentically without labels. ...

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Performance / Tour

Acclaimed Vocalist Michael Mayo Returns To New England Conservatory For Performance With Students On November 10

Acclaimed Vocalist Michael Mayo Returns To New England Conservatory For Performance With Students On November 10

Source: Ann Braithwaite

New England Conservatory’s internationally renowned Jazz Studies Department presents acclaimed vocalist and alum Michael Mayo in concert with jazz students on Thursday, November 10, 2022. The concert features Mayo sharing his unique approach to solo performance using live vocal looping, along with NEC vocalists and instrumentalists. It’s part of a four-day residency which also includes master classes and rehearsals with students. The 8 p.m. concert takes place in Brown Hall and is free and open to the public. Tickets required; ...

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Performance / Tour

New England Conservatory Jazz Voice Alum Michael Mayo Featured On American Voices A PBS Great Performances Special Hosted By Renée Fleming

New England Conservatory Jazz Voice Alum Michael Mayo  Featured On American Voices A PBS Great Performances Special  Hosted By Renée Fleming

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

“Jazz on stage is alive and it’s a very intimate exchange… You have to listen so you can respond and keep the conversation going. You do that so impeccably well!” – Dianne Reeves to Michael Mayo on PBS’ American Voices New England Conservatory Jazz Studies alum Michael Mayo (Bachelor’s of Music, Jazz Voice ’14) was recently featured on American Voices, a PBS Great Performances special hosted by Renée Fleming. This PBS show was the outgrowth of the Kennedy Center’s 2013 ...

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Concerts

Sep 16 Tue

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Sep 17 Wed

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Oct 5 Sun
Michael Mayo
Gretchen
Berlin, Germany

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Bluer Than Blue

Outside in Music
2025

buy

Fly

Mack Avenue Records
2024

buy

Kinfolk 2: See The...

Edition Records
2021

buy

High Heart

Edition Records
2020

buy

Accelerate Every Voice

Pyroclastic Records
2020

buy

Northern Cities Vowel Shift

From: Accelerate Every Voice
By Michael Mayo

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