American singer Michael Mayo grew up on music: his father, Scott Mayo, played saxophone with Earth, Wind & Fire and his mother, Valerie Pinkston - who has sung with Beyoncé and Whitney Houston - is a backing vocalist with Diana Ross. Mayo grew up in Los Angeles. Together with two other vocalists he was selected to study at the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute, where his teachers were Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Since then, he has become an experienced performer, whose highlights include performing at the White House and at the Monterey Jazz Festival. He has worked with Jacob Collier, Kneebody, Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens, among others. Mayo now lives in New York, where he recorded his debut album Bones with producer Eli Wolf (who has worked with Norah Jones, Al Green and The Roots). Mayo is debuting at NN North Sea Jazz this summer.
