Jazz Fest Playlist: Sasha Masakowski

The jazz vocalist previews her Jazz Fest set with her Spotify playlist.

[This weekend, a number of artists playing Jazz Fest have contributed Spotify playlists. Friday, jazz vocalist Sasha Masakowski performs, and here's hers.]

"This year for Jazz Fest, I'm pulling my repertoire and inspiration straight out of the dawn of the 20th Century. Embracing history is such a key element of New Orleans culture that I thought it would be fun to feature so historical New Orleans music this year at the Fair Grounds, with a twist, of course.

Lately I've been digging deep into the world of traditional jazz, paying homage to our musical ancestors by studying and learning the music they put out into the world nearly a century ago. My good friend Colin Myers, trombonist of the Jumbo Shrimp and Smoking Time Jazz Band, has graciously spent hours sitting with me next to his record player listening to obscure recordings of legends like Fats Waller, Annette Hanshaw, and Louis Armstrong's Hot 5. Together we've shaped the Jazz Fest set so that we're not playing worn-out early jazz standards, but transcribing songs off records that only the trad enthusiasts know, to bring a breath of fresh air and originality to a style that has been performed for over 100 years down here in New Orleans.

I'll be bringing these tunes to life some of the best young traditional jazz musicians in the city: Aurora Nealand, Colin Myers, Russell Welsh, Paul Thibodeaux, and Joshua Gouzy."

Sasha Masakowski plays Jazz Fest Friday on the Lagniappe Stage at 2:35 p.m.