Maia - Waters Deep

Format: LP
Catalogue No.: VLG10
Barcode: 4062548106800
Release Date: 24 Jul 2026
Genre: Jazz

Multi-dimensional Expressionist, Maia aka Sonjia Hubert Harper is an internationally renowned vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and composer who is proficient on several musical instruments that include flute, piccolo, harp and vibraphone. As a music educator Maia specializes in vocal training for adults with developmental disabilities (Autism, Down Syndrome, etc) and school-aged children. 
Over the years Maia has gained notoriety as a longtime member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM of Chicago) and Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (Horace Tapscott, Los Angeles).
Maia headlined the Gorée Island Jazz Festival in Dakar, Senegal in 2019 with the Maia Quintet, the first all-women band in the festival's history. She has performed live with the André 3000 New Blue Sun Ensemble at Hollywood Forever in Los Angeles, and has appeared on recordings by Carlos Niño & Friends. A former Executive Secretary of the AACM, she is also a 2025 M3 Luminary Award recipient through the Mutual Mentorship for Musicians program.
Water is life. Water is a vital spiritual medicine, essential for cleansing and healing. It embodies a space for surrender, memory, strength, and enlightenment. All living beings depend on water to thrive, as it symbolizes life, fertility, and sustenance, as well as hardship. For many people, water is viewed as a sacred gift from the Creator. 
Maia originally created Waters Deep as a solo harp piece to accompany a dance tribute, choreographed by Laurie Goux, for the iconic dancer Miss Katherine Dunham in Chicago in 1996. Miss Dunham was present at the debut of this piece. Over many years, Waters Deep evolved into a three-movement suite celebrating water as life’s essential force

TRACKLIST:
SIDE A
A1. Passage (1st Movement)
A2. Yemanya Celebration (2nd Movement)
 
SIDE B
B1. Moonlight Baptism (3rd Movement)
B2. Rebirth (Finale)