Michael Mayo (born June 1, 1992) is an American singer and composer. He has performed and toured with

Kneebody Kneebody is an American band formed in 2001, consisting of Adam Benjamin on keyboards, Shane Endsley on trumpet, Ben Wendel on tenor saxophone, and Nate Wood on bass guitar and drums. History Ben Wendel, Shane Endsley, Adam Benjamin, and Kave ...

Jacob Collier Jacob Collier (born 2 August 1994) is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reharmo ...

, Christian Sands,

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, ...

, Nate Smith and

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

. He released his debut studio album ''Bones'' in 2021, followed by his sophomore album ''Fly'' in 2024.

Early life

Michael Mayo was born on June 1, 1992 in Los Angeles. He was raised in the

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

neighborhood of Los Angeles by his father Scott Mayo, a saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist, and his mother Valerie Pinkston, a singer. His parents performed with such musicians as

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, and

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

, throughout his youth. Mayo began singing at a young age and was inspired to become a professional jazz vocalist after singer

Gretchen Parlato Gretchen Parlato (born February 11, 1976) is an American jazz singer. She has performed and recorded with musicians such as Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Miller and Lionel Loueke. Pa ...

visited Mayo's high school, the

Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA, ) is a visual and performing arts high school located on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is a public school, ...

. Mayo went on to attend the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in jazz vocal performance. In 2015, he became the third vocalist to be accepted to the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz (now the Herbie Hancock Institute) at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, where he studied with

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...

, and

Dianne Reeves Dianne Elizabeth Reeves (born October 23, 1956) is an American jazz singer, who has won five Grammy Awards for her albums. Early life and education Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a musical family. Her father sang, her mothe ...

Career

In 2017 and 2018, Mayo performed and recorded two EPs as a member of the ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

''-themed jazz/R&B band Shrek Is Love. He has also appeared as a featured vocalist on multiple albums by drummer Nate Smith. In 2019, Mayo performed in the NPR Tiny Desk Concert for fellow Los Angeles–based act Moonchild. After completing a tour with

, Mayo was inspired to create his debut album. Mayo released his debut album ''Bones'' in 2021 on

Mack Avenue Records Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Background Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and Chairperson, chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company ...

with production by

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, who previously produced for

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

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, and

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. Described by ''

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'' as "a work of startling originality, presenting a musical sound-world which references everything from

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," the album features both of Mayo's parents on its closing track. The album's track "Stolen Moments" draws influence from jazz and

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

singer

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and conductor (music), conductor. His Vocal pedagogy, vocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in Pitch (music), pitch—fo ...

, featuring more than 250 layered tracks of Mayo's vocals. Mayo's sophomore album ''Fly'' was released in October 2024, also on Mack Avenue.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Bones'' (2021) * ''Fly'' (2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Michael Living people 1992 births 21st-century American male singers American jazz singers American rhythm and blues singers American neo soul singers Singers from Los Angeles Mack Avenue Records artists