Mojo Live in association with On The Verge is proud to announce an outstanding line up for its very first concert production in the Maryland/D.C. region. On Friday November 30, 2007 Mojo Live will present an evening of soul and jazz featuring National Recording artist and songstress Maysa with special guests Gary Taylor and Fertile Ground at The Music Center At Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland.
Mojo Live in association with On The Verge is proud to announce an outstanding line up for its very first concert production in the Maryland/D.C. region. On Friday November 30, 2007 Mojo Live will present an evening of soul and jazz featuring National Recording artist and songstress Maysa with special guests Gary Taylor and Fertile Ground at The Music Center At Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland.
The evening promises to be an electrifying night as Maysa headlines this phenomenal line up and graces the elegant stage at The Music Center At Strathmore with her classically trained, jazz infused style of soulful vocals. With a voice that soothes like a tropical breeze and a style that is unmatched, singer/songwriter Maysa has become one of the most recognizable voices of adult contemporary smooth jazz and soul who remains consistently on top of the Billboard music sales charts. The Maryland-based, classically trained, Morgan State graduate first burst onto the scene fifteen years ago as the lead vocalist for British soul/jazz/funk group Incognito. Before her most noted work with Incognito Maysa was a member of Stevie Wonder's vocal group Wonderlove. Maysa performed with Wonderlove on the "Jungle Fever" soundtrack and appeared in live and televised performances to promote the film. In 1991 Maysa was recommended to Incognito founder and leader Paul "Bluey" Maunick. After auditioning over the phone for "Bluey" Maysa landed the job with Incognito and moved to London to became part of the Incognito music family. In 1993 Incognito released their U.S. breakthrough album entitled "Positivity" with the number one single 'Deep Water' featuring lead vocalist Maysa. From there American audiences and music lovers began to realize that the voice of the British soul/jazz/funk group Incognito was their very own Maryland bred Maysa Leak. Maysa has since released six solo albums ("Maysa"-1995), ("All My Life"- 2000), ("Out Of The Blue"- 2002), ("Smooth Sailing"- 2004), ("Sweet Soul Classics"- 2006), ("Feel The Fire"- 2007) to date with her 7th release in the works and has guest appeared on numerous compilations for various artists and close friends.
As a special guest Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/producer Gary Taylor will join Maysa on November 30th. Taylor is most known for speaking to the hearts of women and men regarding love, romance and the almighty relationship thru his thoughtful, intelligent and impassioned soul music. With his haunting melodies, sexy intoxicating chords and insightful lyrics on recordings such as "Take Control," "Square One," "The Mood Of Midnight," "Under The Nightlight," "Eclectic Bohemian," among others, Gary Taylor's music has stood the test of time for nearly two decades. On Gary Taylor's latest CD, "Retro Blackness," the celebrated vocalist, songwriter and producer makes his most ambitious declaration of love yet. "Retro Blackness" is the soulful musical celebration and heartfelt contemplation of a people and a culture. Taylor, developed as an artist, also became a prolific songwriter and producer penning songs for Anita Baker ("Good Love"), The Whispers ("Just Gets Better With Time," "My Heart, Your Heart"), and Lalah Hathaway ("I'm Coming Back"). Taylor has prided himself on creating "adult soul" that people can feel, not just hear. Taylor refused to compromise his God-given gift of writing heartfelt songs for commercial gain. In Taylor's own words, "If I write just to make money then I'm only going to be as good as the stock market will allow."
To round out the line up Fertile Ground, another Maryland favorite, will also join Maysa as special guests for the evening. Fertile Ground is often classified as a soul/jazz band but they spill out of any genre as a cross-cultural fusion of all things spiritual and funk-ridden. The messages are heart-felt, conveying an unashamed spirituality, a firm political stance or whatever the moment requires, and everything is heavily supported by raw, organic, often danceable compositions in the tradition of Fela Kuti, Stevie Wonder, Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire. In this realm called good music, Fertile Ground has been cementing their place as musical and social innovators.
For more artist, ticket and venue info log onto: www.maysa.com www.myspace.com/mleak www.morningcrew.com www.myspace.com/garytaylorbohemian www.blackoutstudios.com www.myspace.com/fertilegroundmusic www.strathmore.org www.mojoliveonline.com
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