With vocals rooted in an upbringing of heavy jazz, blues and soul influences such as Taj Mahal, Billie Holiday, Bonnie Raitt and Amy Winehouse, Maralisa’s distinct sound and timbre flow seamlessly through genre, creating a world of her own with a focus on the heart and emotion of a song. Revive Music writes, "Maralisa has a confident, developed style that makes her immediately recognizable."
Bay Area raised, Maralisa studied jazz voice at The New School in New York and remained there for nearly a decade, forming her longtime band Space Captain (Tru Thoughts Records) and recording/performing as a guest vocalist in a number of NY based projects. She relocated to Los Angeles in 2020 for a few years before traveling north to San Francisco, which she now calls home.
Maralisa has performed alongside Khruangbin, BADBADNOTGOOD, Ghostface Killah, Nick Hakim, The Hot 8 Brass Band, Kendra Morris and more at notable venues including Rough Trade, Pier 17, the Bryant Park Emerging Music Festival and Teragram Ballroom. Her first solo EP Sugarbird released in 2015 plays with genre and vocal arrangement, featuring many close collaborators from New York. Releases with Space Captain have included double single Easier / Remedy, In Memory EP, All Flowers In Time LP, and double singles Secret Garden / Back of My Mind and Birthday Cards / Chester Springs.
Her jazz group, featuring seasoned Bay Area musicians Jay Sanders on piano, Eric Markowitz on bass and James Gallagher on drums, play a mix of classic standards, bossa and throwback soul inspired by vocal greats including Nina Simone and Julie London. Maralisa is currently performing throughout the Bay Area and working on Space Captain’s sophomore album as well as her first solo LP - a melding of psych-pop, folk and 60s soul exploring family history and influence, personal growth and reflection.