Smooth Nights at KBA Featuring Jazz Greats: Incognito and Maysa

CARY, NC – Rounding out the Smooth Nights at KBA (Koka Booth Amphitheater) series, on Saturday, September 10 at 7:00 pm, British Acid Jazz great, Incognito, led by multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, and arranger, Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick takes the stage. Maysa joins Incognito, as they continue to lead the way in Acid Jazz. 

“On every song, Maysa’s consummate artistry spawns a redolent nod to the past while simultaneously creating her own unique soulful sound.” – NPR

Smooth Nights at KBA supports educational excellence.  A portion of your ticket purchase will go to the North Carolina Central University Foundation, Inc.

“Helping to tell the North Carolina Central University story, Institutional Advancement endeavors to enhance the institution’s tradition of excellence in teaching, research and public service by generating transformative private support.” 

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About Incognito

Incognito is a British acid jazz band. Their debut album, Jazz Funk, was released in 1981. Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick is the band’s leader, singer, guitarist, composer, and record producer. The band has included Linda Muriel, Jocelyn Brown, Maysa Leak, Tony Momrelle, Imaani, Vanessa Haynes, Mo Brandis, Natalie Williams, Carleen Anderson, Pamela (PY) Anderson, Kelli Sae, and Joy Malcolm.

Incognito was founded by Paul “Tubbs” Williams & Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick in 1979, as an offshoot of Light of the World. Light of the World was a substantially sized group and following various changes to the lineup, the founding members’ Breeze Mckrieth, Kenny Wellington & David Baptiste – inspired by American funk bands such as Funkadelic forming offshoot bands like Parliament – formed Beggar & Co. Bluey & Tubbs went on to form Incognito. However, there has been a re-connection over the years in Light of the World with various former members, alongside their other commitments.

Incognito has had intermittent success in the UK Singles Chart, with their breakthrough 1991 hit a cover version of the Ronnie Laws tune “Always There”, featuring Jocelyn Brown, which made No. 6 in the UK. The group’s 1992 single, “Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing” saw similar success, reaching No. 19 in the UK. They have also been a favorite of various re-mixers, including Masters at Work, David Morales, Roger Sanchez, and Jazzanova, and have released several albums consisting almost entirely of remixes.

In 1994, Incognito appeared on the Red Hot Organization’s compilation album, “Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool.” The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as ‘Album of the Year’ by Time magazine. In 1996, the band contributed “Water to Drink” to the AIDS-benefit album Red Hot + Rio, also produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Their song “Need to Know” is the theme song for the progressive radio and television news program Democracy Now!.

In 2021, the band reissued a celebratory, 40th anniversary, 106-track retrospective of their debut album, Jazz Funk. The Brit funk pioneers have released a music video for the track “You Are in My System.” The deluxe reissue features a 52-page booklet with liner notes written by Charles Waring and a selection of the band’s archive photos. 

About Maysa

Maysa is the kind of singer who takes hold of a song and enraptures her audience in the palm of her hands, as she delivers lyrics, phrases, melodies, and harmonies in a way that only she can. Blessed with an instantly identifiable honey-toned mezzo-soprano and an undeniably brilliant and magnetic stage presence, Maysa’s alluring vocals, candor, honesty, humor, and purity as an artist make her a rarity in this business. Having collaborated with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Incognito, Angela Bofill, Will Downing and Jonathan Butler, Phil Perry, and more…Maysa can hang with the best. It is no wonder she received many awards for her work, including Soul Train’s first Centric Award in 2009, and her first Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance for her remake of Nancy Wilson’s “Quiet Fire” in 2014. 

The Baltimore native, who grew up in a loving household with amazing parents, is proudly the mom of one son, Jazz, who was born prematurely at 25 weeks while she was on tour with Incognito in 1999. Jazz is now in college studying Photography and Music Production. 

In 2018, Maysa became the owner/founder of her own record label, Blue Velvet Soul Records. The company has released 4 singles, “You Are Not Alone”, “It’s Gonna Be Alright”, “Lovin’ You Is Easy”, and “Soft Words.” 

To celebrate her first record printing, Maysa designed a commemorative blue velvet box set with those 4 singles as an EP called “The Fab First Four”, in January of 2021. Maysa released her 14th solo studio album entitled, “Music For Your Soul” in the first quarter of 2022.