Steve Masakowski Family & Friends Official Two Worlds Release Concert: Celebrating a landmark New Orleans jazz album honoring guitarist Steve Masakowski, with a multigenerational project featuring Steve, Sasha, and Martin Masakowski, plus Brian Blade, Oscar Rossignoli, and Rex Gregory

The Masakowski Family stands at the heart of New Orleans’s modern jazz scene, carrying forward a rich tradition of musical innovation and artistry across generations.

Patriarch Steve Masakowski has been a central figure in New Orleans jazz since the early 1980s. A celebrated guitarist, composer, and founding member of the award-winning group Astral Project, he has released numerous recordings, including two on Blue Note Records, and has twice been named “Best Guitarist” by Gambit and Offbeat. Steve has performed with legends such as Alvin “Red” Tyler, Ellis Marsalis, Danny Barker, James Black, and Earl Turbinton, as well as Grammy-winning artists Bobby McFerrin, Nicholas Payton, Allen Toussaint, and Dianne Reeves. For nearly 30 years, he served as the Coca-Cola Endowed Chair of Jazz Studies at the University of New Orleans, mentoring generations of musicians while publishing influential works, including Jazz Ear Training (Mel Bay).

Carrying this legacy forward are Steve’s children, Sasha and Martin Masakowski, each acclaimed artists in their own right.

Jazz vocalist, composer, and producer Sasha Masakowski has gained international recognition for her fearless approach to jazz, blending electronic elements into both her performances and songwriting. She has led projects such as Art Market and Tra$h Magnolia on stages around the world, from Blue Note NYC and SFJAZZ to the Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai, Cotton Club Tokyo, Copenhagen Jazz Fest, and the Detroit Jazz Festival. Named one of Paste Magazine’s “12 Jazz Artists to Watch” in 2019 and hailed by Offbeat as “one of the brightest young talents in the Big Easy,” Sasha has collaborated with modern icons including Nicholas Payton, David Binney, Damon Locks, and Jason Lindner.

Bassist and luthier Martin Masakowski is known for his adventurous musicianship, fusing jazz with folk, classical, electronic, North African, Eastern European, and Indian influences. Trained at NOCCA, the Rotterdam Conservatory, and the University of New Orleans under his father’s mentorship, Martin was selected for the U.S. State Department’s OneBeat residency (2016–17), after which he released the acclaimed album Valley View with violinist Ira Echo. As a luthier, he designed the custom MAZ Bass travel instrument, expanding the double bass’s possibilities. Now based in New Orleans, he is a sought-after collaborator and performer at premier clubs and festivals.

To celebrate Steve Masakowski’s 70th birthday, his children Sasha and Martin organized a recording session as both a tribute to his legacy and to honor the continuation of the city’s family-driven jazz tradition, joining the lineage of esteemed jazz families such as the Marsalis, Jordan, Batiste, and Andrews families.

The album, entitled Two Worlds, is set for release in the Spring of 2026 and features Steve (guitar) and his children Sasha (vocals) and Martin (bass), alongside Oscar Rossignoli (piano), Rex Gregory (saxophone), and internationally acclaimed drummer Brian Blade. The 9 tracks, recorded at Marigny Studios and mixed/ mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Mike Marciano, blends virtuosic artistry and masterful songwriting with the kind of familial chemistry that could only come out of the Big Easy. 

Two Worlds is grounded in the spirit of mentorship and collaboration that defines New Orleans jazz. A prime example is Steve’s four‑decade musical kinship with drummer Brian Blade, who first studied under him at Loyola University and later appeared on Steve’s Blue Note release Direct Axecess. The album’s title track, along with original compositions by Steve, Sasha, and Martin, sits beside James Black’s classic “A Love Song,” reaffirming New Orleans’ role as a wellspring of modern standards. 

Together, the Masakowski Family embodies the living continuum of New Orleans jazz by honoring its deep roots while continuing to innovate and push the music forward, keeping the art form vibrant, evolving, and alive.