Behold! The vinyl cover for WATER MUSIC (designed by gifted and radiant visionary Lydia Cheshewalla)

Water Music is the first document in a series of activism-based projects that focuses attention on the Global Water Crisis, an issue that affects us all regardless of political ideology, race, orientation, gender, or any other status/label we use to segregate the masses. That being said, the crisis (like many, as we are collectively discovering) affects non-white communities the hardest, as access to this (usable) resource is becoming scarcer by the day. Oil and other resource-driven industries and governments are still throwing in new pipelines, mines, etc.. destroying protected land and polluting local water supplies.

This document speaks to the situations at Standing Rock, Flint, MI, and a major corporation that has been stealing hundreds of millions water from the state of California, every year, for almost 100 years for little more than a ~$1000 permit. It also spotlights the fact that all of the social movements that have begun in America over the past 100 years have been initiated, led and sustained by Black, Brown, and Indigenous Women.

The band – Mai Sugimoto, Artie Black, Anton Hatwich and Isaiah Spencer

More info later.

Pre-orders for vinyl will be available by September 22, and the record will drop Nov. 1st.

Water is Life.

– “It’s important to say what hope is not: it is not the belief that everything was, is, or will be fine. The evidence is all around us of tremendous suffering and tremendous destruction. The hope I’m interested in is about broad perspectives with specific possibilities, ones that invite or demand that we act. It’s also not a sunny everything-is-getting-better narrative, though it may be a counter to the everything-is-getting-worse narrative. You could call it an account of complexities and uncertainties, with openings.” Rebecca Solnit (Hope In The Dark).

Good morning, friends. I hope everyone is finding enough to do at home, getting out for walks, and social distancing like pros. The past week was a series of ups and downs, trying to wrap my head around what is actually happening, and doing my best to get on my horn, my yoga mat, emails, or a book to keep from going crazy. I am sure it will continue to be a journey for us all the next few weeks. So, while we get through that together, I have some new stuff for you!

Tomorrow night, SDPB Radio’s ‘Jazz Nightly’ host Karl Gehrke and I will be having a phone chat while I debut my new record ‘Water Music’ LIVE on air! I am looking forward to having this world premiere in my home state, giving all those who have supported me throughout my life the first chance to hear it. I am giddy with excitement.

What’s that…you want to hear it, too? You CAN – click here – Tuesday March 24 – at 9p central time – and hang out with us as we discuss Water Music and the Water Protectors who inspired it.

Anton Hatwich, Mai Sugimoto, Isaiah Spencer, Artie Black, Dan Pierson, and Ryan Johnson helped to bring this music to life, and I am proud to present this beautiful collaboration to you.

Tune in and join us!

Love,

a

Good morning from Chicago!

In less than two weeks, I begin a five-week long tour that includes a few short writing retreats and recording sessions in four different cities. Here is the schedule!

2/8-2/9 – w/Brian Haas (duo) at Tonic Santa Fe

2/11 – w/Mike Cameron Collective at Hodges Bend Tulsa, OK

2/12 – w/Chris Combs, Brian Haas and more at Fassler Hall Tulsa, OK

2/16 – w/Brian Haas and Zach Rhea at Artmosphere Lafayette, LA

2/17 – Tiny House Concert – New Orleans

2/20 – The Fat Trio at Siberia; sharing a bill with Brian Haas/Justin Peake Duo and Brad Webb Making Faces (9pm)

2/22 – (morning) w/Jonathan Freilich at Live Oak Cafe

2/22 – w/Nikki Glaspie, Brian Haas, Helen Gillet at Maple Leaf

2/23 – w/Mahmoud Chakti and Yakou N’guesan at Sidebar

2/25 – w/Brian Haas, Nick Benoit and a drummer – Instant Opus at Sidebar

2/26 – w/Aurora Nealand, Brian Haas, Jonathan Freilich, Dan Oestreicher, Justin Peake at Hi Ho Lounge

3/1 – w/Tricky Lamb – house concert (RSVP)

3/2 – w/Fat Ballerina feat. Brian Haas, Dan Oestreicher, Nathan Lambertson, and more at Maison

3/4 – w/Tricky Lamb at Live Oak Cafe

3/6 – w/Brian Haas and Mike Dillon at Sidebar

Two years ago, I took a month-long retreat to participate in an artists’ residency in the small town of Stöðvarfjörður on the eastern coast of Iceland. (I’ll post some pictures and anecdotes later this month)

Toward the end of the residency, each artist was asked to shoot a short interview. Here is the link to mine! The people (and animals) of the Fish Factory Creative Center are continuing to build improvements upon their already super incredibly inspiring place, and I long for when I am once again able to stare out over the ocean, be embraced by the mountains, and watch as the skies are painted green, yellow, purple and blue.

 

Alex Massa

Welcome to my newly-renovated website!

This is a space of inclusion and inspiration – Peruse the pages and amuse your eardrums with recordings old and new. Enjoy my stories, adventures, and ideas that I post, and feel free to send feedback.

I will be updating pages constantly with new projects that I am working on, and projects that I have been included on.

Cheers!

AM