Artists | <back
Heather Masse / The Heather Anne Band
New York-based singer song-maker Heather Masse grew up in rural Maine and began singing at an early age. Having taken a degree in Jazz Voice from the New England Conservatory of Music, Heather is steeped in the jazz tradition, which informs her distinct approach to singing music of all sorts. She is a member of the acclaimed Juno Award winning Canadian band “The Wailin' Jennys”, and has performed at hundreds of venues across the country including appearances on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. She has performed with the renowned contemporary bluegrass band "The Wayfaring Strangers," and has appeared at venues including NPR's World Cafe, the Somerville Theater, and Boston's Symphony Hall, sharing the stage with the Boston Pops Orchestra. In 2006, she recorded an eponymous album with the Boston-based group "Joy Kills Sorrow," a modern string band that finds it home in the cracks between bluegrass, jazz, old-time, and pop styles, as well as a self-released EP Tell Me Tonight, a collection of original songs performed with her own Brooklyn-based outfit “Heather and the Barbarians.” Heather’s rich, soulful, voice elegantly moves through numerous styles organically and with sincerity, a quality learned from some of her early influences including Ray Charles, Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, and Chet Baker. A mélange of soulful, thoughtful songs, Heather's newest project, The Heather Anne Band, crosses the borders between country, jazz, blues, and folk. With Heather Masse’s expressive voice, and Jed Wilson’s extraordinary piano playing at its core, the band creates an expansive, timeless sound that engages and inspires. The Heather Anne Band plans to record a full-length album of Heather’s original songs and music this winter.
	"What a voice! Every once in a while I happen on a voice so pure, with such great texture, intonation, time and phrasing that it stops me in my tracks. Heather Masse has all that and more.” - John Ziegler, KUMD "Heather Masse has a stunningly beautiful voice and impeccable musicianship. You don’t want to miss a chance to hear this singer." - Jazz musician Dominique Eade "The icing on the cake [of Joy Kills Sorrow] though, is vocalist Heather Masse, whose voice hovers somewhere between Alison Krauss and Maura O'Connell, with the versatility to take on material as widely diverse as Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone", Hank William's "Weary Blues from Waitin'," Paul Seibels's "Louise" and old time standards like "Train on the Island," yet give them each her own intriguing twist." - Sing Out Magazine "Masse may be the perfect catch for The Wailin' Jennys, which is rounded out by Ruth Moody and Nicky Mehta... Of course, there's also her voice: Masse's surprisingly deep vocal sent a ripple of reaction through the audience. It's a throaty voice, fit for sultry jazz, and it was best showcased on a spooky a cappella rendition of Lead Belly's Bring Me Little Water Sylvie." - Uptown Magazine, Winnipeg "For the Words Project, New York based reedist Sam Sadigursky crafts ten pieces to accompany poems by lesser-known poets... Heather Masse’s performances are the standouts. While this would be a solid record without her involvement, her interpretations and ability to wrap herself into the core of each syllable sends this record into the emotional stratosphere. The record’s opening piece, the haunting “After Paradise,” cuts deep due to Rende’s crestfallen piano and Masse’s rich alto that eventually builds to a simmering vamp. Masse’s interpretation of “Water, Aspirin, You” matches perfectly with Sadigursky’s moving score that allows her to stretch her impressive range and is at its apexduring wordless unison vocalizing. Though the tango dance of “In The Kitchen” is probably not meant to show off the sensuality of Masse’s voice, really, it’s the kind of performance (and voice) that one could never tire of hearing." - Cadence Magazine’s review of The Words Project