Guest artist Michael Mayo will perform with the UNL Jazz Singers on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Kimball Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.
Mayo is a vocalist, composer, songwriter and arranger based in Los Angeles. He attended the New England Conservatory of Music and The Thelonius Monk Institute of UCLA (now the Hancock Institute of Jazz). His CDs include “Bones” and “Fly.”
The program will include Mayo’s original compositions and arrangements, adapted by Glenn Korff School of Music Lecturer and UNL Jazz Singers Director David von Kampen for Mayo to perform with UNL Jazz Singers. The UNL Jazz Singers will perform with Mayo on “Another Love,” “20/20”, “Four,” “Bag of Bones” and “Fly.”
“This is a remarkable opportunity to hear one of the best jazz vocalists in the world,” von Kampen said. “Michael has come on the scene quickly and made a huge impact on the vocal jazz community. His vocal ability and compositional voice are both so strong. This is definitely one concert not to miss.”
Von Kampen said the UNL Jazz Singers have been listening to—and marveling at—Mayo’s recordings for several years.
“He’s released some of the very coolest vocal jazz records of this decade,” he said. “When I told the group this was happening, I could feel something shift in the air. We’re tremendously excited for the opportunity.”
The concert will also be a chance for the UNL Jazz Singers to perform in the newly renovated Kimball Recital Hall for the first time.
“It’s beautiful, and it’s going to sound amazing,” von Kampen said.
The UNL Jazz Singers will be releasing their first recording, “EP 25,” which will be available everywhere you stream music on Oct. 15. The EP includes arrangements of jazz standards, popular songs and an original wordless composition.
“Last March and April, the spring 2025 rendition of UNL Jazz Singers went into the recording studio to make their first professional recording in the 10-plus-year history of the ensemble,” von Kampen said. “We recorded four charts with the help of some guest instrumentalists, recent UNL Jazz Singer alumni Erik Skoog, Jonah Bennett and Keaton Clark, and a few other local musicians. It was an amazing opportunity for the singers to get experience working in a modern studio and seeing the recording process come to life.”