GS:NEW MUSIC

Tatiana Lady Mayfield

21 February 2018

TATIANA “LADYMAY” MAYFIELD Refreshing and beautiful are how many have described the voice and persona of Tatiana “LadyMay” Mayfield, a jazz vocalist, musician, and educator from Fort Worth, Texas. “LadyMay” (as she has been named) has been singing and playing jazz music since the tender age of thirteen. Since then, she has performed in various venues and festivals throughout the U.S., which in turn have earned her rave reviews from listeners and musicians in addition to numerous awards. In 2017, she was awarded 2nd place in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocals Competition held at NJPAC in New Jersey. In 2010, she was chosen as one of the twelve semi-finalists to compete in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition that was held in Washington, D.C before a legendary panel of judges. She is also a 2006 Young Arts winner for Jazz Voice. She has also appeared on DFW’s WFAA “Good Morning Texas” television show four times since 2011. She has opened for several well-known artists such as Kirk Whalum, Will Downing, Randy Brecker, Dave Valentin, Bobbi Humphrey, and The Main Ingredient.

 

LadyMay has also performed with the legendary Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for a tribute concert to celebrate AfricanAmerican women in music entitled “I’m Every Woman” and again for their Independence Day show, “Patriotic Pops: Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the USO” in 2016. She will also perform with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra in spring of 2018. In 2017, she received the “Jazz Innovators Award” from Dallas, TX as part of Jazz Appreciation Month for her contributions in jazz education to young people in the DFW area. She has recorded two albums, From All Directions (2009) and A Portrait Of LadyMay (2012). The first album From All Directions was recorded while she was still attending the University of North Texas, where she received her degree in Jazz Studies. Jazz journalist Scott Yanow described her voice on her debut album From All Directions (2009) as “attractive” with “excellent elocution” and a “joyful spirit”. On her sophomore album A Portrait Of LadyMay (2012), Harvey Siders, former writer of JazzTimes and Downbeat magazines, describes her intonation as “flawless” and her scatting “as natural as breathing.” In addition to her vocal skills, she plays piano, trombone, composes, and teaches voice and music theory. In May of 2017, she was awarded 3rd place in the “Performance” category of the International Songwriting Competition for her original song “Forgive Me Someday”. Her new album titled The Next Chapter will be released in February of 2018.

Lady May’s appeal has also reached listeners abroad in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, France, Nigeria, and Brazil. Her music has been featured on several international radio stations such as “Solar Radio”, “Jazz FM”, “Tropical FM”, and “Premier Gospel Radio” in the UK, “RJM Radio” in France, and “Smooth 98.1” in Nigeria. In November 2012, her song “Real” from A Portrait Of LadyMay reached #1 on the “UK Soul Chart”. In July of 2013, she completed her first tour (LadyMay In The UK) to London where she was widely received on radio appearances, as well as at some of their top performance venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express in Soho, and the Flyover Portobello. UK based record store “Soul Brother Records” labelled “A Portrait Of LadyMay” as one of their “Best New Jazz Releases of 2013”. In January of 2014, LadyMay won the “Best Vocalist Of The Month” competition for “SingerUniverse.com” for her song “It’s Over Now”. As an educator, she is an adjunct professor at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, TX teaching commercial voice and their commercial vocal ensemble. For more information on Tatiana LadyMay, visit www.tatianamayfield.com.