Download bio - Thana Alexa

THANA ALEXA
By the time an artist discovers their own voice, they’ve inevitably been shaped by countless
influences. On her debut album, Ode to Heroes, vocalist/ composer/ arranger Thana Alexa pays
tribute to the personalities both personal and musical who have impacted her on the path to
forging her own distinctively individual voice. It’s a telling list that encompasses her own
family; jazz giants like Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, and Paul Desmond; and the stellar
musicians who collaborate with her on the album, including drummer and co-producer Antonio
Sanchez, saxophonists Donny McCaslin and Lenart Krecic, bassists Jorge Roeder and Scott
Colley, pianist Sergio Salvatore and vibraphonist Christos Rafalides.
The release of Ode to Heroes (Harmonia Mundi/Jazz Village), marks the arrival of a rising star
on the modern vocal jazz scene. 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 conversation with some of the music’s most
renowned and forward-thinking players.
Alexa is an active member of Antonio Sanchez' touring ensemble Migration (John Escreet,
Seamus Blake, Matt Brewer) and has recorded two critically acclaimed albums with the group
(New Life and The Meridian Suite). They have toured the United States, Mexico, South America
and Europe performing at major clubs, theaters and festivals.
Alexa also appears on guitarist Gene Ess's albums Eternal Monomyth (John Escreet, Thomson
Kneeland and Clarence Penn) and Fractal Attraction (David Berkman, Thomson Kneeland,
Gene Jackson). Both records - for which Alexa contributed vocals, compositions and lyrics - won
the SESAC Jazz Award in 2015 and 2016. The group will be releasing their third album in
Summer 2016 (Gene Ess, Manuel Valera, Yasushi Nakamura, Clarence Penn).
Alexa came in 2nd place in the 2014 Made in New York Jazz Competition and won 1st place the
2011 Jazzon Alpe-Andria International Competition for "Ode to Heroes," while her composition
"Siena" was nominated for a Best Jazz Composition award by PORIN, the Croatian Music
Academy, an honor equivalent to the Grammy® Awards in America.
Thana 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 Croatia - her family's country of origin - where she was mentored
for many years by vibraphonist and club owner, Bosko Petrovic.