Often tagged as the father of Brazilian samba jazz, Luizão Maia remained a busy session man over many decades, most notably accompanying vocalist Elis Regina for more than a decade. In addition to Regina, Maia performed alongside many other noteworthy musicians during his active years, which spanned the '60s to the '90s. He never recorded any solo albums yet still remained highly recognized and substantially esteemed among the Brazilian jazz community.

Maia began playing music at age 13, starting with the guitar. He moved to double bass soon after, and began his professional career in 1964 as the bassist for the Rio Samba Trio and as the accompanist to Tania Maria and Nelson Cavaquinho. His career progressed quickly from there. In 1966, he joined the Fórmula 7 group and then Brazuca in 1968. Maia joined Regina's band soon after, where he remained a regular member for over a decade and became very well-known as a result. During this era, he toured the world with the legendary vocalist and also worked intermittently as a highly demanded session musician for such performers as Toots Thielemans, Lee Ritenour, and George Benson.

Throughout the '70s and '80s, Maia relentlessly busied himself with touring and session work. During the early '90s, he notably collaborated with vocalists Lisa Ono and Bebel Gilberto, recording the De Tarde Vendo O Mar album with the latter in 1991. Following performances in 1993 with Gal Costa in Japan, Maia suffered a stroke that caused him to lose movement in his right hand. Despite the tragedy, he miraculously developed the technique of playing with only his left hand and lumbered on as a musician, most notably participating in a tribute to Regina in 1998 at the Town Hall in New York. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi