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Maze is a soul band that came into fame during the early '70s in San Francisco, headed by former Raw Soul member Frankie Beverly. The collective is known as one of the premier live soul acts of their era.
Beverly was the songwriter, record producer, arranger, singer, keyboardist and guitarist for the collective, which also featured McKinley Williams, Roame Lowry, Carl Wheeler, Larry Kimpel, Vance Taylor, Jabu Smith and Michael White.
The band was known for Beverlys smooth voice and their bass-driven arrangements, which were a departure from most other soul acts. Maze released their debut LP, "Maze featuring Frankie Beverly" in 1977. Following that, they released "Golden Time of Day," "Inspiration" and "Joy of Pain" in the following three years.
The group really gained ground with "Live in New Orleans" in 1981. The album demonstrated the groups reputation as a top-notch live act, which followed them into the UK as well. The band continued to release albums through 1989, including "We are One," "Live in Los Angeles" and "Silky Soul."
In 1989 Maze released a best-of album, and after a four-year break they were back to making hits with "Back to Basics," which hit No. 2 on the R&B charts. In 1996 they released "Anthology" and in 2004 their last album was released, another Greatest Hits record.
While the group hasnt been recording albums as heavily, they certainly are still traveling the country, bringing their legendary live soul to fans.
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