He further refined his skills in places like Minton’s Playhouse, where he met many influential musicians and would occasionally sub in for bass In 1949, he tools his first professional gig in the Bronx at the 845 Club.
In 1951 Dr. Billy Taylor offered him a spot in his trio, which prompted May to leave his insurance job and become a full-time musician As a left-handed player, May rejected the typical approach of playing with his non-dominant hand to become a ‘Back-to-Front’ bassist.
[4] Due to the proximity of the heaviest strings to May’s fingering hand, adds clarity to his low notes, without an impact on their ‘depth’ or loudness.
He maintained a noticeably uptight posture, even in his older ages of playing, likely due to methods such as an inversion table which he used to counter the impact of lugging around his instrument from years of gigging.
[1] During this period, he played with Miles Davis, Lester Young, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, and Mercer Ellington.
[2] From 1959 to 1963 he played behind vocalist Gloria Lynne, and in the 1960s he also worked with Dave McKenna, Herman Foster, Shirley Scott, Stanley Turrentine, Herbie Mann, Mose Allison, and Earl Hines.
[6] Once assembled, the group featured Catherine Russell on vocals, Larry Ham on piano, Eddie Locke on drums, and David Glasser on sax [7] The group recorded one album, Live At Shanghai Jazz - introducing Catherine Russell, featuring a mix of original compositions, and some standards, including A Night In Tunisia.
Their composition of new, younger players mixed with two old-time swingers gave them a “Modern Jazz Quartet kind of swing”.
May felt like it was the “icing on the cake when you present singers", as it changed the availability of sound, and allowed for the rhythm section to be featured more frequently in solos.
With Mose Allison With George Benson With Carmen Bradford With Charles Brown With John Coltrane With Lou Donaldson With Jean DuShon With Frank Foster With Johnny Hartman With Jane Jarvis With Herbie Mann With Billy Mitchell With Charlie Rouse With Shirley Scott With Marlena Shaw With Sonny Stitt With Irvin Stokes With Billy Taylor With Dave Van Ronk With Benny Waters [1]