Maysa Leak
Biography
Maysa is one of few Smooth Jazz Artist to remain consistently on top of the Billboard’s Sales Chart.
Born and raised in Baltimore, MD, Maysa discovered that she wanted to be a musician at six when her parents took her to see the musical Purlie. She recalls, “The moment Melba Moore took the stage an opened her mouth I made my decision that music would be my fate.” A graduate of Morgan State University with a degree in classical performance, Maysa met Stevie Wonder while still a senior in college.
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Upon graduating, she moved to North Hollywood to perform with Stevie Wonder’s Wonderlove, with whom she performed with for the next year. While with Wonder, she appeared on the Jungle Fever soundtrack and performed on such television shows as Oprah and The Tonight Show.
In the early 90s, Maysa auditioned over the phone to become a member of the acclaimed British jazz/funk/R and B band Incognito and in 1992 she relocated to London and recorded Tribes and Scribes, featuring the hit single "Dont You Worry Bout A Thing." Since then, Maysa has appeared on over seven Incognito recordings including their latest CD, Bees and Things and Flowers.After being "discovered" as a solo artist by Carl Griffin the then VP of A and R at GRP Records,Maysa recorded her self-titled debut in 1995, followed by her solo sophomore effort All My Life in 1999, Out of The Blue in 2002, Smooth Sailing in 2004, Sweet Classic Soul in 2006, and now Feel The Fire, 2007.
Maysa has also collaborated with Rick Braun, Will Downing, Jason Miles Soul Summit, Rhythm Logic, Jonathan Butler and Pieces of a Dream. And has been produced by George Duke, Rex Rideout, Mike White(Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly),Chris “Big Dog” Davis, Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick of Incognito, Richard Bull (Acoustic Alchemy).
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Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.