A gifted songwriter whose tunes have been recorded by the Dixie Chicks, Carole King, Keb’ Mo’, Trisha Yearwood, Bonnie Raitt and many others, Maia Sharp is back with a fine new studio album titled “Echo,” a long overdue showcase for her own prodigious talents.

Featuring Sharp on vocals, guitar, keyboards and saxophone, “Echo” was produced by the Grammy Award- winning Don Was, whose own impressive resume includes work with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop and Brian Wilson. I recently had a chance to catch up to Los Angeles-based Maia (that’s MY-uh, for the uninitiated) Sharp by phone in advance of her concert at The Ark this Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Q: How does it feel to have your first album out in four years?

A: It feels great, although I did do a self-released seven-song EP (“Eve and the Red Delicious”) two years ago. I felt like I needed to do that because I was playing live as a duo and I wanted people to walk away from those shows with that sound. The EP is just me and one other player. But yes, it was high time do a full production, full-bore album and I kind of pulled out all the stops on this one.

Q. How did you meet Don Was and how did he come to produce “Echo”?

A: I met him through the Bonnie Raitt experience; it’s like the gift that keeps on giving. I met her when she recorded three of my songs on her last album, “Souls Alike.” We recorded in the studio and then went on the road together. She was later doing this one-off song for a movie that Don was producing and she called me to sing a high harmony on it. I did, and that’s where I first met him. I could just tell he was creating this zen, relaxed environment where everybody was working fast but working well. He knew how to get the great performances and how to get them easily.

When he asked me to come and do two songs for his website — the Wasmopolitan page of mydamnchannel.com — I jumped at that, and that twelve hours recording with him was an amazing experience. We worked so well together I felt like the door was open to ask him if he was interested in recording my full album. He said, ‘hell yeah!’ I had to wait in line behind other artists he was producing first, including Jill Sobule, Amos Lee, Todd Snider and Old Crow Medicine Show, but they were all great and I was very happy to be there.

Maia Sharp performs "Polite Society" on Wasmopolitan: Free download of the song, courtesy of mydamnchannel.com. Q: Besides the relaxed vibe he created in the studio, what else did he do to make this album come together so well?

A: He got Jim Keltner to play drums on everything; they work together a lot. How many things have you heard that he’s played on? Probably two hundred of your favorite songs has him playing drums on them. He’s so creative and song-oriented and fun to work with. I actually just saw Don again yesterday. Edwin McCain (the South Carolina-born singer-songwriter) and I are old friends and I knew right away that he and Don would hit it off instantly. When Edwin was talking about wanting a fresh plan for his next album, I said, ‘dude, you’ve got to meet Don!’ Yesterday we did a trial run — a single song — that will be included on Edwin’s greatest hits album, a song that we wrote together. So I got to see them in action and knew that it would work out well.

Q: Compare having your songs recorded by other people to recording your songs yourself. Is one experience more satisfying than the other?

A. They are separate but equal, for sure. I love being able to flesh out these songs as I hear them, and I love to go out and perform them and see the audience reaction. But it’s also a wonderful feeling to have my songs chosen by another artist. They’re getting pitched thousands of songs, and they have only 11 or 12 slots on their record and to have them pick one of mine is such a complement and a validation. I’m really trying to keep the hybrid life up because my songwriter pursuits help my artist pursuits and vice versA: There’s been plenty of breaks that I’ve had as a songwriter because I was out there as an artist. I’m on the road and I’m opening up for an artist, we write together and they put that song on an album. As a songwriter I write a song with an artist and the next thing I know I’m out on tour with them. Both are their own thrill. If I don’t do one for a while I really start to jones for it.

Q: Is there a certain song on “Echo” that you are particularly proud of?

A: This record more than any of mine has more truth in it. There’s something true in every song. It wasn’t always like that. I used to feel complete if I had just crafted the lyric the way I wanted to and the chord changes worked well and the rhythms lined up and I felt it had achieved its purpose as a song. That used to be enough. I really love my older albums, I’m not trying to bash those. The last cut on “Echo,” “The Girl On Her Way,” is just purely a purge — something I had to say. And after having said it, I feel great. I’ve never felt changed after I finished a song or felt this kind of relief, but wow, just having it out there and not in here is such a lightening feeling. I really feel so much better having written that song.

Q: You’ve played at The Ark a few times before. What are your impressions of the audiences there?

A: I love to play there. It’s one of my top five places to play. The layout of it is just right on — it’s exactly the right size, everybody has a good seat and it sounds really good. People are there to listen. You’re not in the same room as the bar or the restaurant. It’s really about sitting down and listening to the songs.

Maia Sharp plays at the Ark, 316 S. Main St., on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 8 p.m. $15 and $22. Tickets at The Ark box office, the Michigan Union Ticket Office, Herb David Guitar Studio, or Ticketmaster. Contact The Ark at 761-1818.

Martin Bandyke is the 6-10am morning drive host on Ann Arbor’s 107one. Follow him on Twitter and at his web site.