This was the first night of a very special two night concert with powerhouse singer Maysa Leak.  She chose this venue to record her first ever live CD, Maysa Live (to be released in 2008.)  There was a powerful vibe in the room, provided by Maysa’s family, friends, and fans long before the concert actually began.  Both nights were sold out and the crowd was packed in pretty tight.  Everyone wanted to be there to hear this diva do her thing.  They wanted to show their love and support for this, her first live recording on her own record label. 

Maysa pulled out all of the stops for this show.  She had her band, (Alfredo Mojica on percussion, Mike Reed on drums, Mark Walker on bass, Daryl Hunt on keys, Vince Evans on keys, and musical director Wayne Bruce on guitar) her back-up singers, (Angela Phillips, Dawn Elliott, and Lori Williams) and a fantastic horn section (Dave Brown on sax, father and son Charles Fun on trombone and Carl Fun on trumpet), and several guest artists who joined in several times during the night.  As soon as she took the stage, the audience exploded into thunderous applause and adulations.  This was even before she sang one note.  Maysa opened with her version of “I Don’t Want To Lose Your Love,” followed by “Hypnotic Love,” in which she broke into one of her characteristic scats. 

As she introduced some of her songs, she would give the audience a little background about them.  As the night progressed, you realized that a lot of these songs have special meaning for the songstress.  They chronicle events that have affected her life somehow, whether it was good, like “Out of the Blue,” and “Soul Child”, which are about her son Jazz, or “Hooked On Your Love,” a tribute to Chaka Khan, the bad, like, “Mr. So Damn Fine” about a bad dating experience, or, the ugly, like “Can We Change The World?” written after witnessing an incident of people disrespecting other people while in Jakarta for a music festival.  This one turned into a challenge to President Bush to bring our troops home, as Maysa adlibbed on this song, “Can you here me over there on Pennsylvania Avenue?” 

As special as these songs are to the singer, they also had special meaning for the audience, too.  As each song began, and recognition set in, the audience would clap loudly in response to hearing some of their favorite Maysa songs.  “Sexy,” “What About Our Love?”  “Got To Be Strong,” “Friendly Pressure,” and, from her latest album, her version of the Norman Connors classic, “You Are My Starship.” 

As mentioned earlier, she did have some special guests join her on stage for a few songs.  Flutist Gary Thomas joined Maysa and the band for “Out of the Blue,” and vocalist Sylver Logan Sharp, singer with the groundbreaking disco group Chic, joined in for “Scat World.”  Not only did “Scat World” highlight the amazing vocals of Ms. Logan Sharp, but also of Maysa’s three talented back-up singers as well.  As the show wound down, “Sunshine” gave each member of the band a chance to show what they could do.  It was time for the band to step it up and “make it nasty,” according to Maysa.  And nasty it was!  (I mean this in a good way.) 

The concert was over two hours long, and Maysa sang effortlessly from start to finish.  Not once did her voice waiver or sound weak.  I wonder how many of mainstream music’s so-called singers could (a) sing for over two hours straight and (b) still have a voice at the end of the night.  Her voice is like good coffee:  rich, full, and strong. 

Maysa ended the show with one of her most popular and recognizable songs, “Deep Waters.”  The audience would not let her leave, and she performed an encore, the old EWF classic, “Head to the Sky.”  It was a very appropriate end to one fantastic show.  

-  Mary Bentley