Maysa
Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, jazz-soul singer/songwriter Maysa Leak embarked on a singing career at an early age. By the age of six, she had already determined that she was going to be a singer, and she spent her elementary and high school days performing in choir and musical theater productions. Maysa majored in classical voice performance at Morgan State University; during her studies there she began writing and recording original material. She also placed second in Baltimore's first annual Billie Holiday Vocal Jazz Contest and auditioned for Stevie Wonder's vocal group Wonderlove. She was accepted into the group but joined only after she had earned her degree from Morgan State.
Upon graduating, Maysa moved to North Hollywood to perform with Wonderlove on the Jungle Fever soundtrack and appeared in live and televised performances to promote the film. To pay her rent, Maysa also recorded jingles on her days off from performing with Wonderlove and worked at local record shops. In 1991, she was recommended to the British funk-jazz group Incognito by producer Steve Harvey, a mutual friend of Maysa's and of the band's leader, Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick.
Maysa moved to London and joined the band in time to record the 1992 album Scribes, Tribes & Vibes, which included the hit single "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing." She also recorded the 1993 album Positivity with Incognito before returning to Baltimore in 1994 to record her first solo album, Maysa. "What About Our Love," the album's single, reached number 52 on Billboard's Hot 100. In 1997, Maysa returned to Incognito and recorded Beneath the Surface. During this time she began collaborating with the neo-blues group Grainger, and appeared on their album Phase 1; she also recorded with Rick Braun, Rachel Z, Rhythm Logic, and Pieces of a Dream. Incognito's No Time Like the Future followed in 1999.
Throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, Maysa was remarkably productive as a solo artist and continued to be appreciated more in the U.K. than in the U.S. The varied All My Life (2000), Out of the Blue (2002), and Smooth Sailing (2004) featured an array of sophisticated R&B, lush deep house, and crossover jazz, as well as covers of songs originally recorded by Sly & the Family Stone, Gil Scott-Heron, and Earth, Wind & Fire. In 2006, she began a lengthy association with the Shanachie label. Sweet Classic Soul (2006) and Feel the Fire (2007) were highlighted by reinterpretations of the Stylistics, Luther Vandross, Commodores, and Evelyn King, while Metamorphosis (2008), A Woman in Love (2010), and Motions of Love (2011) were dominated by new songs written by and with the likes of longtime associate Rex Rideout, Will Downing, Ledisi, and Chris Davis. Maysa considered Blue Velvet Soul (2013), her tenth solo album, to be her best work. She followed it with a holiday album, A Very Maysa Christmas (2014), and Back to Love (2015), the latter of which featured Phil Perry and Mint Condition's Stokley Williams. In 2017, Maysa released Love Is a Battlefield, a covers LP that saw her delivering soulful renditions of songs by the Isley Brothers, Luther Vandross, Natalie Cole, and Pat Benatar, among others.
© Heather Phares & Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Metamorphosis
Soul - Erschienen bei Expansion Records am 14.10.2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Golden Memories Collection
World Music - Erschienen bei World Music Records am 01.05.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Maysa
Pop/Rock - Erschienen bei Sony BMG Music Entertainment am 15.07.2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ne Me Quitte Pas
Bossa Nova - Erschienen bei VELOSO am 28.01.2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Canecao Apresenta Maysa
MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) - Erschienen bei EMI Brazil am 01.01.1969
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Maysa Canta Sucessos
Samba - Erschienen bei Som Livre am 01.01.1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
O Barquinho
Brasilianische Musik - Erschienen bei Before And After am 10.07.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maysa Matarazzo
World Music - Erschienen bei Discobertas am 01.03.1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Carnival King
Lateinamerika - Erschienen bei nature oldies am 09.03.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tom Jobim Por Maysa (Remastered)
Bossa Nova - Erschienen bei RevOla am 16.12.2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Convite para Ouvir Maysa, Vol. 1
World Music - Erschienen bei Som Livre am 01.01.1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -