Singing Her Way Home: Maysa

AFTER IMPRESSING STEVIE WONDER while still a senior at Morgan State University, jazz songbird Maysa flew the coop to sing backup with Wonder's Wonderlove. The Baltimore native never drifted back. With six solo albums under her belt — including this year's R&B-infused "Feel the Fire" — the classically trained songstress returns to the area with a two-day stint at the Birchmere, where she'll be recording a live CD.

» EXPRESS: When did you fall in love with jazz?
» MAYSA: When I was 12, I was really into pop music, and my uncle really didn't want me to go there. So he told me to turn to PBS one day to watch Al Jarreau. When I saw him scat, it just kind of blew me away. ... I started listening to Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald and all that kind of stuff.

» EXPRESS: You taught yourself to scat?
» MAYSA: Scatting came up as sort of a peer-pressure thing in college. If you called yourself a jazz singer, then you had to scat.

» EXPRESS: Have you ever thought of revisiting your childhood love of pop?
» MAYSA: I think some people want to hear me sing more pop stuff. I think I'm going to try it on my next album.

» EXPRESS: What album would that be?
» MAYSA: After the live album, I've got an album coming out called "Metamorphosis." On that, I'm going to explore some more organic-sounding, pure stuff. And I want to try to experiment with a pop song or two.

» Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Fri. & Sat., 7:30 p.m., $35; 800-551-7328.

Photo courtesy Maysa