Tina May

British jazz vocalist (1961–2022)

Tina May
Tina May performing at the Blue Lamp, Aberdeen, 2004
Background information
Birth name	Daphne Christina May
Born	(1961-03-30)30 March 1961 Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England
Died	26 March 2022(2022-03-26) (aged 60) London, England
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Singer, actress
Years active	1980–2022
Labels	33 Jazz, Linn, Hep

Musical artist

Daphne Christina May (30 March 1961 – 26 March 2022), known professionally as Tina May, was an English jazz vocalist.

Early life and career

The younger of two daughters born to Harry May and Daphne E. Walton, May lived in Frampton-on-Severn when she was young and attended Stroud High School and later Cheltenham Ladies' College. She played clarinet from an early age, before studying classical singing at Cheltenham. She began singing jazz while attending Cardiff University. May recorded numerous albums for 33 Jazz Records. She also worked with Tony Coe, Nikki Iles, Stan Sulzmann, Ray Bryant, Enrico Pieranunzi, Patrick Villanueva [fr] and with Ray Guntrip, on three albums, including her final studio outing, Mood In Blue, which was released in 2023.(see discography below).

May also lectured and taught extensively; her employers included Trinity College of Music, Leeds College of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire, the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and the University of West London. In addition, she regularly attached workshops and masterclasses to her own tours.

Personal life

In 1989, May married Clark Tracey, with whom she recorded several albums in the 1990s. They later divorced and, at the time of her death, May's partner of roughly two and a half years was saxophonist Simon Spillett.

Discography

As leader

Never Let Me Go (33 Records, 1992)
Fun (33 Records, 1993)
It Ain't Necessarily So (33 Records, 1994)
Time Will Tell (33 Records, 1995)
Jazz Piquant with Tony Coe (33 Records, 1998)
Change of Sky with Nikki Iles (33 Records, 1998)
One Fine Day (33 Records, 1999)
Live in Paris (33 Records, 2000)
The Ella Fitzgerald Songbook Revisted with Lee Gibson, Barbara Jay (Spotlite, 2000)
I'll Take Romance (Linn, 2003)
Early May (33 Records, 2004)
More Than You Know with Tony Coe, Nikki Iles (33 Records, 2004)
A Wing and a Prayer (33 Records, 2006)
Sings the Ray Bryant Songbook (33 Records, 2006)
Out of the Blue with Ray Guntrip (rayguntripmusic, 2008)
I Never Told You (33 Records, 2009)
Tina May Sings Piaf (33 Records, 2011)
Where You Belong with Ray Guntrip (rayguntripmusic, 2011)
No More Hanky Panky (33 Records, 2011)
Troubadours with Dylan Fowler (33 Records, 2013)
Divas (Hep, 2013)
My Kinda Love (Hep, 2014)
Home Is Where the Heart Is with Enrico Pieranunzi (33 Records, 2015)
Musica Paradiso: Songs and Stories from the Silver Screen with Guillermo Rozenthuler (2016)
Telling Jokes with Steve Plews (ASC, 2016)
Cafe Paranoia: Tina May Sings Mark Murphy with Andy Lutter (33 Records, 2017)
52nd Street: Tina May Sings the Songs of Duncan Lamont (33 Records, 2021)
Mood In Blue by Ray Guntrip & Tina May (DigiMix Records Ltd - DGMX 594, 2023) (Vocals recorded August, 2021 and co-produced by Gary Barnacle)

As guest

Transatlantic Airs with Michael Hashim (33 Jazz, 1994)
Ellington's Sacred Music with Stan Tracey Jazz Orchestra & the Durham Cathedral Choir (33 Jazz, 2000)
Cornucopia 2 with Humphrey Lyttelton (Caligraph, 2007)
I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue: Humph Celebration Concert (AudioGO, 2011)

References

Yanow, Scott (April 18, 2022). "Remembering Tina May". Jazz on the Tube. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
"England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV7Y-FP3B : 1 October 2014), Daphne C May, 1961; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Gloucester City, Gloucestershire, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
"England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVXL-7NG5 : 8 October 2014), Daphne C May and null, Jun 1989; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1989, quarter 2, vol. 22, p. 1822, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
Cardiff University (2011). "Grants , Gifts and Donations: Individuals". Annual Report. p. 20. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
Tracey, Ben (27 March 2022). "RIP, Tina May, 1961 – 2022". London Jazz News.
^ "Tina May Obituary. The Guardian. April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
"England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVDX-2B3N : 8 October 2014), Harry May and null, 1953; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1953, quarter 2, vol. 2B, p. 32, Barnsley, Yorkshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
Briggs, Derek (1 March 2010). "No sell-by date jazz". The Gloucestershire Echo. p. 10. "The star was born in Gloucester, grew up in Frampton-on-Severn and went to Stroud High School. From the age of 13 onwards I had a great time singing and acting with the Perryway Players. I played clarinet in the Gloucestershire Youth Orchestra and when I was 16, had classical singing lessons with Ursula Hughes in Cheltenham." Retrieved 27 March 2022.
Lacey, Hester (13 August 1995). "How We Met: Rory Bremner and Tina May". The Independent. p. 66. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; Priestley, Brian (2004). The Rough Guide to Jazz. Rough Guides. pp. 517, 518. ISBN 9781843532569. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
https://www.discogs.com/release/27060021-Ray-Guntrip-And-Tina-May-Mood-In-Blue
Tina May biography at Allmusic
Vacher, Peter (March 29, 2022). "Tina May: 30/3/1961 – 26/3/2022". Jazzwise. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
Jazz in South Wales: Announcements. Facebook. March 27, 2022. "Last night I said goodbye to the wonderful woman who was my partner for the last two and a half years." Retrieved March 29, 2022.

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