It was the late Marvin Gaye that encouraged Frankie Beverly to change the band's name from Raw Soul to Maze. Maze and Beverly would tour with Marvin Gay back in the mid 70's. This 
weekend MAZE is in The Woodlands at the Pavilion. (Saturday 10/5/2019)
The sound is distinctive -- passionate, creative, original, soulful, honest and powerful. For nearly thirty years Frankie Beverly and Maze have created a unique sound and become one of the most influential groups in modern history.
"We've made it this far because we love and respect ourselves and our fans. But, most importantly, we believe in what we do," remarks Frankie. The journey began when Frankie relocated from his hometown of Philadelphia to San Francisco and formed Maze. In 1976, he released his first album, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly which yielded a string of hit singles, including "Lady of Magic" and "Workin' Together."
It was Chris Rizik of Soultracks.com that reviewed the group this way:
By any measure, one of the most talented but criminally underappreciated self-contained bands of the past three decades has been Frankie Beverly and Maze. Their ability to fuse soul and jazz with an irresistible groove and intelligent lyrical content has gained for them an extremely loyal following among Soul music fans and great respect among their performing peers, but little attention in the pop music world.