Tina May | |
|---|---|
 Tina May performing at the Blue Lamp, Aberdeen, 2004 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Daphne Christina May[1][2][3][4] |
| Born | 30 March 1961 Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died | 26 March 2022 (aged 60) London, England[5] |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
| Years active | 1980–2022 |
| Labels | 33 Jazz, Linn, Hep |
Daphne Christina May (30 March 1961 – 26 March 2022), known professionally as Tina May, was an English jazz vocalist.
The younger of two daughters born to Harry May and Daphne E. Walton,[6][7] 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.[8] She began singing jazz while attending Cardiff University.[9] May recorded numerous albums for 33 Jazz Records. She also worked with Tony Coe, Nikki Iles, Stan Sulzmann, Ray Bryant, Enrico Pieranunzi, Patrick Villanueva[10] and with Ray Guntrip, on three albums, including her final studio outing, Mood In Blue, which was released in 2023. [11](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.[6]
In 1989, May married Clark Tracey, with whom she recorded several albums in the 1990s.[12] They later divorced and, at the time of her death, May's partner of roughly two and a half years was saxophonist Simon Spillett.[13][14]
