Grammy® nominated vocalist and Downbeat cover artist, Thana Alexa, makes her debut at the BOP STOP with an All-Star band. Tickets to attend this show are $25 each. This event will not be livestreamed.

Featuring:

• Thana Alexa - voice / loops
• Maya Kronfeld - piano / fender rhodes
• Jordan Peters - guitar
• Matt Brewer - electric / acoustic bass
• Antonio Sanchez - drums

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Thana Alexa is an awe-inspiring vocalist, composer, arranger and producer – for whom the voice is both a lyrical and experimental instrument – her music pushes the boundaries of the genre into new and unexplored territory with deep seeded roots in jazz and overtones of contemporary soul and world music.

Her latest album, ONA (self-release, March 2020), which earned her two Grammy® nominations (Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Instrumental Jazz Solo for Regina Carter’s performance), is Alexa’s focus, her mission statement. Translated to "SHE" from her family's native Croatian, ONA was inspired by the cross generational and cross-cultural stories of the immigrant women in her family and evolved into an exploration of the experiences of contemporary women everywhere. Its premise crystalized in 2017 after her attendance at the Women's March on Washington, D.C. after which she was inspired to learn more about the stories of the women in her own family and the influences that their life experiences have had on her own existence, growth and sense of freedom. The album speaks to us musically about every facet of womanhood, conveying a message of strength and empowerment.

ONA has spawned more female-focused projects: Alexa, together with Grammy® nominated artist, Nicole Zuraitis and bassist, Julia Adamy formed SONICA, a trio that fuses electronics, intricate vocal harmonies, electric bass, keyboards and percussion into their unique original music and arrangements. Their upcoming latest self-titled release - fully produced, mixed and engineered by Alexa - was released in September 2022 on Outside In Music. Alexa also created the project Founding Mothers of Jazz in conjunction with MusicTalks Concerts to celebrate and honor the powerhouse women who helped build the jazz genre from the ground up, many of whom are not historically recognized for their contributions because of their gender.

During the 2020 Coronavirus lockdown, Alexa made headlines as a co-founder of what Rolling Stone called the first “virtual jazz festival” and fundraising initiative, Live From Our Living Rooms. Over the course of their three series (including a partnership with the DC Jazz Festival to present their FromHome Summer Session), Alexa, together with co-founders Owen Broder and Sirintip, contracted over 120 artists, raised over $140,000, and helped facilitate grants to over 80 US based musicians in need. Live From Our Living Rooms received attention from Rolling Stone, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the BBC, and more. Live From Our Living Rooms became an official 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2021, with Alexa serving as its Executive Director.

Perhaps Alexa’s most important and ongoing collaboration has been with her husband, five-time Grammy® winner Antonio Sanchez (composer for the Oscar winning Birdman film and drummer with Pat Metheny for 20 years). Together with his band Migration they have recorded three critically acclaimed albums and have toured worldwide throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Alexa also sings lead vocal in the live production of Sanchez's newest project, Bad Hombre, which features the music of 12 guest artists including Trent Reznor, Dave Matthews, Meshell Ndegeocello, Lila Downs, Thana Alexa and others. The album, SHIFT (Bad Hombre Vol. II) also featuring originals by Thana Alexa and her trio SONICA was released on August 26, 2022 on Warner Music.