There are two artists who use this name:
1. A Brazilian MPB singer and s… Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists who use this name:
1. A Brazilian MPB singer and songwriter
2. A Grammy-nominated American jazz singer

1. Maysa Figueira Monjardim Matarazzo (June 6, 1936, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – January 22, 1977, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), better known as Maysa Matarazzo or simply Maysa, was a Brazilian singer, songwriter and actress, being one of the first female songwriters of Brazil and one of the precursors of the genre samba-canção. She had great success in the 1950s and 1960s, known especially for her pessimistic, hopeless, melancholic and dramatic lyrics and interpretations, very characteristic of her image and career. She is also associated with bossa nova music, but is widely known as a torch song (música de fossa) interpreter.

Maysa's grandfather was Alfeu Adolfo Monjardim de Andrade e Almeida, the 1st Baron of Monjardim, and wife Laurinda Luísa Pinto Pereira. Maysa showed talent at a young age and by twelve had written a samba song, which later became a hit from her first album. She married André Matarazzo Filho, a member of a wealthy and traditional São Paulo family in 1954 at the age of 18 and two years later had a son, Jayme Monjardim. Jayme would later be known as a television director. In the late 1950s she formed a successful bossa nova group and also did television work relying on her magnificent pair of gorgeous green eyes.

Her tour to Buenos Aires first projected bossa nova beyond Brazil's borders but was not without controversy. The tour was a great success and extended to Chile and Uruguay, but Maysa had an affair with the show's producer, Ronaldo Bôscoli, a journalist and composer linked romantically to bossa nova's muse Nara Leão. This led not only to a break between Nara and Ronaldo, but also to a fracture in the bossa nova movement. Nara supported Carlos Lyra's nationalist vertent of the bossa nova movement, to the detriment of Boscoli's more orthodox approach, emphasizing form rather than content in bossa nova compositions. Nara also began courting older composers of traditional sambas, such as morro composers Zé Kéti and Cartola. She also became an idol of the protest song genre against the military dictatorship in Brazil. Nara's pocket show "Opinião" marked the start of a series of protest musical shows, which both in Rio and São Paulo distracted the public from the main themes of "the love, the smile and the flower", typical of the bossa nova years. So Maysa became "persona non grata" both to the bossa-novistas and the protest singers and her career faltered. She reacted by marrying Spaniard music producer Miguel Anzana, with whom she moved to Spain and began a series of presentations not only in Spain, but also Portugal, Italy and France.

Her personal life, already tumultuous, became even more chaotic leading to her being called "the Janis Joplin of Bossa Nova". But she later made a come back with one of the first notable shows in Rio's "Canecão" venue, the equivalent of Carnegie Hall in NYC. Maysa also played the Olympia in Paris to a full house twice and enjoyed considerable success in Europe. She is still considered the best Brazilian "torch song" (fossa) musician, rivaled only perhaps by Nora Ney as interpreter and Dolores Duran as composer. Upon her return to Brazil, Maysa continued to blend her old unique "broken love affair" trademarks with the more current festival style and occasional bossa nova hits. In the 1970s Maysa tapped her actress side and acted on a few telenovelas in Brazil. She also composed the soundtrack for a Rede Globo telenova just as the TV network became the powerhouse of Brazilian soap operas. She appeared more in peace with herself in latter years but died in a car crash in 1977, on the Rio-Niterói bridge, which connects the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói over the Guanabara Bay.

In January 2009, 32 years after her death, a miniseries about her life was broadcast on Brazilian television and spanned two new books about one of Brazil's most charismatic divas. Maysa's style influenced the following generations of Brazilian female singers and composers, with great ascendancy in the works of Angela Ro Ro, Simone, Cazuza, Leila Pinheiro and Fafá de Belém.

2. Maysa Leak (born August 17, 1966) is an American jazz singer better known by her mononym Maysa. She is well known by fans of smooth jazz both for her solo work and for her work with the British band Incognito.

After receiving her degree from Morgan State University, Maysa headed to Southern California to perform with Stevie Wonder’s female backup group Wonderlove, While with Wonder, Maysa was a vocalist on the Jungle Fever soundtrack and performed on numerous television shows including The Arsenio Hall Show, Oprah and The Tonight Show.

It was during an over-the-telephone audition in the early 90s, that Maysa become a member of the acclaimed British jazz/funk/R&B band Incognito and in 1992 she relocated to London and recorded Tribes, Vibes & Scribes, featuring the hit single "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing." Since then, Maysa has appeared on over seven Incognito recordings.

Maysa recorded her self-titled debut in 1995, followed by her second album All My Life in 2000, Out of The Blue in 2002, Smooth Sailing in 2004, Sweet Classic Soul in 2006, and now Feel The Fire, 2007. In 2008, Metamorphosis peaked at No.1 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz top 100 chart and no.13 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. In 2010, "A Woman in Love", Maysa 8th Solo cd debuted at No.1 on the Contemporary Jazz Charts. Maysa's 9th solo album,Motions of Love, released in November 2011, debuted at No. 1 on Billboards Contemporary Jazz Charts and Number 7 on the R&B charts.

Maysa has also collaborated with well-known jazz performers like Gerald Veasley, Rick Braun, Will Downing, Jason Miles' Soul Summit, Rhythm Logic, Jonathan Butler and Pieces of a Dream.

In 2009, Maysa won the very first new Soul Train Award named for the brand's new owners, CENTRIC. The Cenric Award : Soul Approved /Underground.

Maysa Leak was a spokesperson for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a disease that can be fatal to premature babies. She appears in RSV PSA commercials, with her son Jazz, sponsored for the March of Dimes.

In 2013, Maysa received her first Grammy nomination in the "Best Traditional R&B Performance" award category for the song "Quiet Fire" from her album Blue Velvet Soul.

Quiet Fire
Maysa Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Feelings that I can't describe
Sweep through me
Never like this have I felt before
I don't care who knows how good his love is
When he lights my fire
(ooh baby)
Never like this have I felt before
Feelings that I've never known

Until you
Never like this have I felt before
Ecstasy that makes my head go spinning
From love's warm desire
Never like this have I felt before
Quiet is the fire inside of me
Quiet is the fire that only you can see
Quiet is the fire you've set in me
Quiet is the fire and it just won't let me be
Baby hold me close to you
Oooh, feels so good
Never like this have I felt before
Feelings that defy control run through me
Set my soul on fire
Never like this have I felt before
Never like this have I felt before
Quiet is the fire inside of me
Quiet is the fire that only you can see

Quiet is the fire you've set in me
Quiet is the fire and it just won't let me be

Overall Meaning

Maysa’s song “Quiet Fire” is about being overwhelmed by new and inexplicable emotions. The artist describes feelings that she has never experienced before – the ecstasy of being in love with someone who lights her fire. The lyrics convey a sense of surprise, wonder, and surrender. The chorus repeats the phrase “Quiet is the fire” which suggests that while these emotions burn hot, they must be contained and kept internalized. They are quiet in the sense that they are not visible to others, nor can they be easily identified or described. Only the person who sets such a fire can see the flames and feel their warmth.

The verses provide more detail about the singer’s state of mind. She is swept by emotions that defy her control and make her head spin. The love she feels for this person is so good and intense that she does not care what others know or think about it. It is a love that is new and unique to this relationship. The chorus serves as both a refrain and a bridge, connecting the verses and emphasizing the theme of quiet fire. The song ends with the singer asking to be held close by the person who has set this fire, suggesting a desire for intimacy and closeness.

Overall, “Quiet Fire” is a soulful and sensual song that captures the feeling of being caught in a moment of intense emotional discovery. The lyrics convey a sense of vulnerability and openness, as well as a strong desire to be seen and understood by the person who has awakened these powerful feelings.

Line by Line Meaning

Feelings that I can't describe Sweep through me
There are certain emotions that Maysa cannot put into words, but she is experiencing them intensely.

Never like this have I felt before I don't care who knows how good his love is When he lights my fire (ooh baby)
Maysa is in new territory with this love, and she is not afraid to express it. His love ignites a passion in her that she has never known before.

Feelings that I've never known Until you Never like this have I felt before
Maysa has never experienced the emotions that she has with this new love, and it is all thanks to him.

Ecstasy that makes my head go spinning From love's warm desire Never like this have I felt before
Maysa is so overwhelmed with joy and pleasure from this new love that she feels like she is in a dream. She has never experienced this intensity of desire before.

Quiet is the fire inside of me Quiet is the fire that only you can see Quiet is the fire you've set in me Quiet is the fire and it just won't let me be
The passion burning inside of Maysa is subtle, but it is only visible to the one person who has ignited it. This love has taken root in her, and it refuses to be silenced.

Baby hold me close to you Oooh, feels so good Never like this have I felt before
Maysa revels in the pleasure of being close to her new love. She has never felt this level of contentment before.

Feelings that defy control run through me Set my soul on fire Never like this have I felt before
Maysa is overwhelmed by the strength of her emotions. They seem to be taking over her, setting her soul ablaze.

Writer(s): J. Hammond Smith, C. Friberg

Contributed by Madison Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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