Thana Alexa is a graduate of the New School University where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz and Contemporary Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Although born in New York City, Thana grew up in Zagreb, Croatia where she was mentored for many years by vibraphonist and club owner, Bosko Petrovic. She has three upcoming performances this May and June in New York, interspersed with concerts in Zagreb and Rovinj mid-May.
She will be performing at the Red Hook Jazz Festival, Brooklyn, NY on June 11 at 2pm.
More about Thana
A 2016 Downbeat Critic’s Poll Rising Female Vocalist; Runner-Up in the 2014 Made in NY Jazz Competition; Winner of the 2011 Jazzon Alpe-Adria International Competition; and Nominee in the category of Best Jazz Composition for the 2011 PORIN Awards - the Croatian Music Academy’s honor equivalent to the Grammy Awards in America.
Thana Alexa released her Harmonia Mundi Jazz Village debut in March 2015, an album of original compositions and vocal arrangements, which bring together elements of jazz, pop, and world music. The album mainly features her engaging original compositions along with vibrant takes on jazz standards like Shorter’s “Footprints,” Mingus’ “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” and Desmond and Dave Brubeck’s “Take 5.” Most importantly, it spotlights Alexa’s ability to engage in rewarding and illuminating musical conversation with some of the music’s most renowned and forward-thinking players.
On her upcoming album (set for release in 2018), Thana dives into the exploration of textural soundscapes, vocal effects, and the importance of making a relevant statement about our time through art. This crossover album integrates elements of jazz with soul, electronica and pop, opening a door of accessibility and appeal to sophisticated music for wider audiences without diluting its complexity and depth. It makes a strong statement about the role women play in music and in the world – a role that makes female influence and strength undeniable. The album explores the vastness of humanity and our duty as people to be the change we want to see in the world.
Alexa is an active member of Antonio Sanchez' touring ensemble Migration (Grammy winner for the “Birdman” film score as well as Pat Metheny’s drummer of 16 years) and has recorded two critically acclaimed albums with the group, New Life and The Meridian Suite, (Seamus Blake, John Escreet, Matt Brewer). Alexa also appears on three of guitarist Gene Ess's albums. The first two records (Fractal Attraction and Eternal Monomyth) – for which Alexa contributed vocals, compositions and lyrics – won the SESAC Jazz Award in 2015 and 2016. The group’s third album Absurdist Theater (Manuel Valera, Yasushi Nakamura, Clarence Penn) – for which Alexa contributed lyrics – was released in September of 2016.
Thana Alexa Website
Thana Alexa - YouTube