Michael Mayo

Michael Mayo was born to sing. Mayo, who was gifted with a crystalline voice, grew up in Los Angeles as a member of a musical family. His mother, Valerie Pinkston, is an accomplished vocalist who has performed with such artists as Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, and Whitney Houston. His father, Scott Mayo, is a singer and multi-instrumentalist who has worked with acts including Earth, Wind & Fire and Sérgio Mendes. Surrounded by extraordinary musicians from childhood, Mayo found early teachers in his parents and the artists they worked with.

He pursued formal study of music at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, the New England Conservatory of Music, and UCLA’s Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (now the Herbie Hancock Institute), where he studied with Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Dianne Reeves. He started his professional career performing with Hancock, Christian Sands, and Nate Smith. Mayo released his debut album, Bones, in 2021, followed by Fly in 2024, the latter of which garnered a pair of Grammy nominations. Both records find Mayo plying a style of jazz that draws influence from soul, R&B, and gospel, bringing to the music a vocal command reminiscent of Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin, and Mel Tormé.

Before taking the Bowker Auditorium stage, Mayo will spend time working with students from UMass and local college and high school programs as this year’s Billy Taylor Jazz Artist in Residence.