Mai Leisz (née Mai Jõgi; born 5 May 1988 in

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a populated places in Estonia, town on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Municipality and the seat of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded popul ...

) is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

bass player A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low bra ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Biography

Leisz started playing classical

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

at a local children's music school when she was 6 years old and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

when she was 8. She graduated 7 years later and switched to

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

at the age of 16. After graduating high school she moved to

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

in 2007. She was honored with the best instrumentalist prize at Uno Naissoo Compositions Contest in 2010. She has graduated from Georg Ots Tallinn Music school (2010), and Skurups Folkhögskola in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(2011). She received her bachelor's degree (2014) and master's degree in Performance - Jazz at the

Royal College of Music, Stockholm The Royal College of Music, Stockholm () is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The institution was made independent of the Academy in 1971, and ...

(2017). During her years in Sweden, she was touring Scandinavia with different jazz, pop and rock artists including

Linnea Henriksson Ellen Linnea Petrea Henriksson (born 9 November 1986) is a Swedish singer and songwriter who participated in '' Idol 2010'' in which she placed fourth. , she is also the lead singer of the jazz band Prylf. In 2012, Henriksson released her first ...

Carola Häggkvist Carola Maria Häggkvist (; born 8 September 1966), commonly known simply as Carola, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s and has released albums ranging from pop and disco ...

Anders Widmark Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names fo ...

Norrbotten Big Band Norrbotten (), sometimes called North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Sweden ...

, New Places Orchestra and

Ebbot Lundberg Torbjörn "Ebbot" Lundberg (born 26 February 1966 in Västerås)''(In)visible Dialogues'', 2011, p. 170. Published by Dent-de-Leone. . is a Swedish artist, songwriter and music producer who lives in Gothenburg, Sweden. From 1995 to 2012, he was t ...

. In June 2015 she played at Stockholm Waterfront with

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

after his band members

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage ba ...

and

Bob Glaub Bob Glaub (born May 10, 1952)Hageman, William (April 29, 2005)."The aces of bass: Five giants of an overshadowed instrument", Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists an ...

discovered her busking on the streets of Stockholm with American singer-songwriter Doug Seegers. In 2016 she was honored with the Alice Babs Jazz Award and in 2017 she was nominated for the Jazz Cat Newcomer Award by Swedish radio.

MaiGroup

During her first year studying at Skurups Folkhögskola, she gathered together a jazz-fusion band to play her own music. MaiGroup has released three albums: "Luv" (2013), "You" (2015) and "Metamorphosis" (2019). MaiGroup's latest album features guest artists

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant ...

and Charles Lloyd. First single and fourth track on the album, "Here It's Almost Sunset" feat.

is a song co-written by Mai Leisz and David Crosby. Mai Leisz playing with David Crosby

Work with David Crosby

After American singer-songwriter and guitarist, two-time member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -

, of

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

and

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) was a folk rock Supergroup (music), supergroup comprising the American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and the English-American singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by the Canadian singer-so ...

, heard MaiGroup's album "You", Mai was asked to play on Crosby's record "

Sky Trails ''Sky Trails'' is David Crosby's sixth solo album, released on September 29, 2017, by BMG Music. It is Crosby's third album in less than four years, whereas his first three solo albums appeared over a span of 22 years. Musicians on the album de ...

". She recorded fretless bass for the song "Before Tomorrow Falls on Love", written by Crosby and

Michael McDonald (musician) Michael H. McDonald (born February 12, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist. Known for his distinctive, soulful voice, he was a backing vocalist for Steely Dan from 1975 to 1980 and the lead vocalist of the Doobie Brothers ...

. In 2016 Mai relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and did more recording for Crosby and they also started writing music together. Their song "Here It's Almost Sunset" was released on the

album in September 2017. In January 2017, Crosby announced Leisz to be part of the David Crosby & Friends tour in spring 2017. In August 2017 Crosby announced a fall tour in support of the "Sky Trails" album, featuring James Raymond on keys, Leisz on bass,

Steve DiStanislao Steve DiStanislao (born November 18, 1963) is an American drummer. David Crosby DiStanislao frequently collaborated with David Crosby. He toured with Crosby & Nash, the band formed by David Crosby, CPR, and Crosby's solo tours. He appears on th ...

on drums,

Jeff Pevar Jeffrey Pevar is an American producer, band leader, composer, touring and session musician. Pevar was the co-founder of CPR, (with David Crosby and James Raymond), The Gilmour Project (with Scott Guberman, Mark Karan, Kasim Sulton and Prairie ...

on guitar and

Michelle Willis Michelle Willis (born November 6, 1986) is a British-born, Canadian-raised singer/songwriter and keyboard player. She performs regularly as a solo artist and as a side musician with David Crosby and Becca Stevens. She has also worked with The Stoo ...

on keys and vocals. In 2018 Leisz toured Europe as a member of Crosby's backing band, "Sky Trails" band. In 2019 they toured in the US, and finished the tour performing a song with

Jason Isbell Michael Jason Isbell ( ; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. One of the most celebrated contemporary songwriters in his genre, his lyrics are defined by their raw emotional honesty. Isbell began his career as a me ...

& The 400 Unit at

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also known colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheater in the Western United States, western United States near Morrison, Colorado, approximately southwest of Denver. It is owned and operated by the c ...

near Morrison, CO. In February 2020, Crosby announced a tour with the "Sky Trails" band, including dates with Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit. The tour was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. Mai Leisz playing with Jackson Browne

Other collaborations

In 2023, Leisz toured with

as a member of his backing band. She has also worked with

, Glen Phillips,

Gary Novak Gary Novak (born in 1969) is an American session drummer who has collaborated with numerous artists as varied as George Benson, Maynard Ferguson, Chick Corea Elektric Band, Brandon Fields, Lee Ritenour, Michael McDonald, Natalie Cole, David ...

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record-producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitchel ...

, and performed with

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina (musician), Jim Mess ...

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1997 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home". Early life Colvin was born Shawna Lee Colvin in Vermillion, South Dakota, and ...

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

, Rick Allen,

Brady Blade Brady L Blade Jr (born 1965 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American rock, pop and country drummer, record producer and composer. He is the son of Dorothy and Pastor Brady Blade Sr. (Pastor of the Zion Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana). ...

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

Tõnis Mägi Tõnis Mägi (born 18 November 1948 in Tallinn) is an Estonian singer, guitarist, composer and actor. He is one of the most influential and remarkable names in Estonian rock music of the past 40 years. More recently, he is known for his politi ...

, Riho Sibul, and others.

Awards

She has won ''grand prix'' at Alo Mattiisen Music Days (2004), Surpriser award at Tartu Jazz (2007), Best instrumentalist prize at Uno Naissoo Compositions Contest (2010) and

Alice Babs Hildur Alice Nilson (26 January 1924 – 11 February 2014), known by her stage name Alice Babs, was a Swedish singer. She worked in a wide number of genres – Swedish folklore, Elizabethan songs and opera. While she was best known internationall ...

Jazz Award (2016), nomination for Jazz Cat Newcomer Award by Swedish Radio 2016. In 2024 she was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical category for

Deeper Well ''Deeper Well'' is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Kacey Musgraves, released on March 15, 2024, by MCA Nashville and Interscope Records. It received favorable reviews from music critics and earned three nominations at t ...

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

Personal life

In April 2018, Mai married American multi-instrumentalist

and took his name in her personal and professional life.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leisz, Mai Living people 1988 births Estonian guitarists Estonian women guitarists Women bass guitarists Royal College of Music, Stockholm, alumni People from Kuressaare Estonian expatriates in Sweden 21st-century Estonian composers 21st-century bass guitarists 21st-century women composers Estonian women composers