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; please visit this page for more information.
Since graduating from NEC, Mayo has made a name for himself as one of the nation’s finest jazz vocalists. Jazziz wrote in 2021, “Singer-composer Michael Mayo has developed his own lush, neo-soul sound that adroitly showcases his clear tenor, which glides over luxuriant clouds of his multi-tracked vocals…Mayo exhibits preternatural command in range and phrasing.”
Mayo is the son of “first-call” session and touring musicians. Michael’s dad Scott Mayo was a saxophonist for Earth, Wind & Fire, among many others, and is currently the musical director for Sergio Mendes, while his mom Valerie Pinkston, now a back-up vocalist for Diana Ross, also sang with Beyoncé, Luther Vandross, Ray Charles, Whitney Houston and even alt icon Morrissey. Bones is Mayo’s first full-length album under his own name after studying at New England Conservatory and the Thelonious Monk Institute—now named after Herbie Hancock, who mentored Mayo, helping him discover the link between sound and technology through a looper pedal, and showcased him as a featured vocalist on a tour of South America in 2018.
Like Bobby McFerrin, one of his major influences (who was a graduate of the same L.A. performing arts high school), Mayo approaches his voice as a musical instrument, but in often unexpected ways. Even with his classical training, Mayo’s music is a seamless blend of alternative and neo-soul elements, a unique combination that defies genre. “Technology plays a huge role in what I do,” says Mayo. “I’m just really excited about finding new sounds and using them in a musical way.” A true Renaissance artist, Mayo has taught himself four languages — English, French, Portuguese and Spanish—and is starting to learn Japanese. He is also an avid Twitch player (“It combines my two favorite things: music and video games”), performs in a band called Shrek Is Love, devoted to original songs about the beloved animated character, and actively supports Save Our Stages, designed to aid indie clubs and venues whose survival has been threatened by the pandemic. During the lockdown, Mayo also started giving students vocal, “improvisational ear” lessons and mentoring advice via Zoom, helping singers “find their way.” “For me, the goal has always been to make music, travel the world and meet interesting people,” says Mayo. “Living a passionate life.”
NEC pushes the boundaries of music-making and teaching through college-level training in classical, jazz, and contemporary improvisation. Through unique interdisciplinary programs such as Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Performances & Partnerships, NEC empowers students to create their own musical opportunities. As part of NEC’s mission to make lifelong music education available to everyone, the Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education deliver training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students and adults.
Since graduating from NEC, Mayo has made a name for himself as one of the nation’s finest jazz vocalists. Jazziz wrote in 2021, “Singer-composer Michael Mayo has developed his own lush, neo-soul sound that adroitly showcases his clear tenor, which glides over luxuriant clouds of his multi-tracked vocals…Mayo exhibits preternatural command in range and phrasing.”
About Michael Mayo
Born and raised in L.A., New York-based Michael Mayo finished work on his debut solo album Bones, on the Artistry Music/Mack Avenue Music Group, just before COVID hit. The tracks were cut live with his band—keyboardist Andrew Freedman, bassist Nick Campbell and drummer Robin Baytas, all of whom he’s played with since high school or college—at Figure8 Recordings in Brooklyn. Eli Wolf, a veteran Grammy-winning producer of albums by Al Green, Norah Jones and The Roots, did the honors behind the board.Mayo is the son of “first-call” session and touring musicians. Michael’s dad Scott Mayo was a saxophonist for Earth, Wind & Fire, among many others, and is currently the musical director for Sergio Mendes, while his mom Valerie Pinkston, now a back-up vocalist for Diana Ross, also sang with Beyoncé, Luther Vandross, Ray Charles, Whitney Houston and even alt icon Morrissey. Bones is Mayo’s first full-length album under his own name after studying at New England Conservatory and the Thelonious Monk Institute—now named after Herbie Hancock, who mentored Mayo, helping him discover the link between sound and technology through a looper pedal, and showcased him as a featured vocalist on a tour of South America in 2018.
Like Bobby McFerrin, one of his major influences (who was a graduate of the same L.A. performing arts high school), Mayo approaches his voice as a musical instrument, but in often unexpected ways. Even with his classical training, Mayo’s music is a seamless blend of alternative and neo-soul elements, a unique combination that defies genre. “Technology plays a huge role in what I do,” says Mayo. “I’m just really excited about finding new sounds and using them in a musical way.” A true Renaissance artist, Mayo has taught himself four languages — English, French, Portuguese and Spanish—and is starting to learn Japanese. He is also an avid Twitch player (“It combines my two favorite things: music and video games”), performs in a band called Shrek Is Love, devoted to original songs about the beloved animated character, and actively supports Save Our Stages, designed to aid indie clubs and venues whose survival has been threatened by the pandemic. During the lockdown, Mayo also started giving students vocal, “improvisational ear” lessons and mentoring advice via Zoom, helping singers “find their way.” “For me, the goal has always been to make music, travel the world and meet interesting people,” says Mayo. “Living a passionate life.”
About NEC’s Jazz Studies Department
The first fully accredited jazz studies program at a music conservatory, NEC’s Jazz Studies Department was the brainchild of Gunther Schuller, who moved quickly to incorporate jazz into the curriculum when he became president of the Conservatory in 1967. Schuller hired Carl Atkins to head the department, as well as George Russell, Jaki Byard and Ran Blake. Among the “most acclaimed and successful in the world” (JazzTimes), the program has spawned numerous Grammy winning composers and performers and has an alumni list that reads like a who's who of jazz, while the faculty has included six MacArthur “genius" grant recipients (three currently teaching) and four NEA Jazz Masters. The foundation of its teaching and success begins with the mentor relationship developed in lessons between students and the prominent faculty artists. In addition to its two jazz orchestras, NEC’s faculty-coached small ensembles reflect the Conservatory’s inclusive approach to music making, with groups focused on free jazz, early jazz, gospel music, Brazilian music, and songwriting, as well as more traditional approaches to jazz performance. Each jazz student is encouraged to find their own musical voice while making connections and collaborating with a vibrant community of creative musicians, and to ultimately transform the world through the power of music.About New England Conservatory (NEC)
Founded by Eben Tourjée in Boston, Massachusetts in 1867, the New England Conservatory (NEC) represents a model of music school that combines the best of European tradition with American innovation. This independent conservatory stands at the center of Boston’s rich cultural history and musical life, presenting concerts at the renowned Jordan Hall on Huntington Avenue, recognized as Boston’s Avenue of the Arts. As a not-for-profit institution that educates and trains musicians of all ages, NEC cultivates a diverse, dynamic community, providing music students of more than 40 countries with performance opportunities and high-caliber training from 225 internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Propelled by profound artistry, bold creativity and deep compassion, NEC seeks to amplify musicians’ impact on advancing our shared humanity, and empowers students to meet today’s changing world head-on, equipped with the tools and confidence to forge multidimensional lives of artistic depth and relevance.NEC pushes the boundaries of music-making and teaching through college-level training in classical, jazz, and contemporary improvisation. Through unique interdisciplinary programs such as Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Performances & Partnerships, NEC empowers students to create their own musical opportunities. As part of NEC’s mission to make lifelong music education available to everyone, the Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education deliver training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students and adults.
