Maisha's Musical Entertainment

My musical journey began on the island of Kaua'i where I grew up singing, dancing and playing music in a counter-culture community. From my artist mother I learned how to sing and play folkloric West-African songs and rhythms by ear. As my listening developed, I began to hear the compositions crafted by nature and became inspired to use this soundscape as a muse. Soon I became interested in the power of my voice and slowly taught myself how to create the sounds I wanted from my internal instrument. I then taught myself acoustic guitar and embarked on the journey of song-writing. As an adult I have continued to nurture my compositional voice and have spent the last six years co-leading a band called Sass N Harmony, a group consisting of cajon, bass, guitar, ukulele, banjo and three-part harmonies. After many years of self direction, I sought out mentorship and training in jazz vocal technique, musicianship, composition, improvisation and jazz piano at Mills College, earning an MFA in Music Composition. My love of piano has continued to grow and I currently study with Bay Area pianist Larry Dunlap. I am releasing singles under my solo project and actively performing/recording with Sass N Harmony. Currently I teach private music lessons, I am in a Doctorate of Musical Arts program at UC Santa Cruz and I perform all around the Bay Area with various fabulous musicians!