An Evening with MICHAEL MAYO

Name: An Evening with MICHAEL MAYO
Start: 2025-04-04T20:00:00-07:00
Location: Jack London Revue

Schedule

Fri, 04 Apr, 2025 at 08:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Jack London Revue | Portland, OR

$ 20.00 - $210.00 (tables) / Age 21 And Up
“Without a doubt the best young male jazz singer in Los Angeles” (LA Weekly)
When you trust your gut, you give in to your most natural inclinations. By doing so, you have no choice but to be honest.
Michael Mayo leans on his intuition as a vocalist, composer, songwriter, and arranger. Much like molding and shaping a sculpture out of clay, he stretches his voice through layers of heavenly harmonizing, hard-hitting beat-boxing, and heartfelt crooning.
The Los Angeles-based phenomenon creates from the heart without filter or pretense, allowing his voice to transmit raw emotion above an ever-evolving backdrop of jazz, neo-soul, and R&B on FLY his second full-length LP, featuring his all-star friends pianist Shai Maestro, bassist Linda Oh, and drummer Nate Smith [Mack Avenue / Artistry Music], and more to come.
"As improvisers, we sometimes talk about leaving space and following your second or third instinct," he notes. "Lately, I've been trying to challenge myself by going with my first instinct and seeing what sticks. Fly has been a fun experiment in that. There were different emotional zones I wanted to occupy, but I started a lot of those sounds with improv and followed that thread. I have a tendency to overthink. I decided to stop that before it began. I didn’t rush, but I treated everything with an immediacy which goes against my nature as an overthinker. To me, this album feels very, Let’s go."
Born and raised in Los Angeles, music quite literally surrounded him. As a sought-after background vocalist, mom shined alongside Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, and Whitney Houston. Meanwhile, dad not only sang, but also performed saxophone for Earth, Wind & Fire and horns for the likes of Sergio Mendes. Among his most formative memories, Michael recalls being backstage, watching Mom and Dad perform, and seeing them in their element. Unlocking the power of his voice, he eventually attended the New England Conservatory of Music and at The Thelonious Monk Institute at UCLA (now the Hancock Institute of Jazz).
Notes on Seating: Jack London provides two options. Reserved Seating is purchased on a table-by-table basis in the central part of the venue and is only available for select shows. Seating in the General Admission section is limited, first come first served, and may be standing room only.