Jazz Vocal Trailblazer: Thana Alexa

Thana Alexa is a Grammy nominated jazz vocalist, composer, arranger, and producer whose music pushes boundaries from jazz, global and electronic soundscapes, placing importance on social activism, mental health awareness & uplifting female voices. At The Local, Alexa will be presenting the music from her upcoming release, which reimagines songs from The Beatles and Björk to Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder alongside a tour de force of artists like Bill Frisell, John Patitucci, Joel Ross, Antonio Sánchez, Ben Wendel and Max ZT. Alexa uses the full sonic palette of her voice as an arranging tool with every sound beyond each special guest’s instrument—beatbox and rhythmic layers, bass lines, harmonic beds, ambient textures, even nature-inspired sounds—created exclusively with her voice, used like a synthesizer to shift color, texture, and tone to build a dense, textured world that gives these iconic songs an entirely new sonic identity. Joining her on stage will be a virtuosic ensemble of multi-instrumentalist singers helping her recreate the vocally driven arrangements, while still maintaining the intimacy of the original duos. One of Alexa’s most important collaborations has been with her husband, four-time Grammy winning drummer, Antonio Sánchez (composer for the Oscar winning Birdman film and drummer with Pat Metheny for 20 years). Together they have recorded nine albums between Alexa’s projects and Sánchez’s groups Migration and Bad Hombre, and most recently were commission by University of California Northridge to write Existencia, a piece written for voice, drums and physical movement. In 2025 she was awarded a prestigious grant from Creative Capital, for her subsequent project, RESONANCE (set to release in 2027/2028) – a song cycle and performance installation that explores how music and sound frequencies impact our physiological, mental and collective health. On International Jazz Day 2026 Thana was featured on NPR’s Jazz Night in America with Christian McBride, discussing her upcoming recordings and her role as co-founder and musical director of the Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival in Croatia, which stands as a beacon for the elevation of young professional musicians from the region, a creative haven for internationally touring performing artists, and introduces Croatian audiences to new and innovative music that is pushing boundaries musically and socio-politically. “A radiant voice…” – DOWNBEAT “…a jazz singer with a global perspective…” – NY TIMES Thana Alexa - voice/ loops / fx / percussion Rachel Eckroth - keys / voice JC Maillard - guitar / voice Jacquelene Acevedo - percussion / voice VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzij4v6Yeuo&list=RDYzij4v6Yeuo&startradio=1 Beer, wine, sake, food, snacks, refreshments are available If you require ADA access, please let us know 24 hours in advance by emailing: thelocalsaugerties@gmail.com --- FAQ on tickets, seating, students, photography/video, parking, ADA and more can be found at TheLocalSaugerties.com