Biography
Although schooled as a jazz vocalist at the New England Conservatory of Music, New York singer/songwriter Heather Masse draws from an array of American musical traditions that shape her primary focus on folk, pop, and bluegrass. Worldwide stages have hosted her performances, and her rural Maine upbringing preceded her most visible role in the charting folk ensemble the Wailin' Jennys.
Her work as a soloist has drawn equal notice to her collaborative projects. She appears regularly on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion in both roles, sharing those broadcasts with Elvis Costello, Wynton Marsalis, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, and Emmylou Harris. Contemporary bluegrass outfit the Wayfaring Strangers and Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing have also featured her, while 2006 brought a recording with the contemporary string band Joy Kills Sorrow. She further fronted the Brooklyn collective Heather & the Barbarians on the album Tell Me Tonight.
Her first solo outing, the 2008 EP Many Moons, paired her with pianist Jed Wilson on jazz-inflected folk duets. Red House Records followed with the full-length Bird Song the next year. Early 2011 saw the Wailin' Jennys issue Bright Morning Stars, which received a Canadian Juno Award in 2013. That same year, Lock My Heart—an album of jazz standards and original material recorded with pianist Dick Hyman—spent an extended period on the jazz charts.
Residing in New York's Catskills, Masse encountered jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd at a Prairie Home Companion taping. The two soon realized they lived nearby, prompting Rudd to ask her to contribute vocals to his 2014 Sunnyside release Trombone for Lovers. Their rapport led, during Rudd's 80th year in 2015, to a joint project of standards and originals supported by bassist Mark Helias and guitarist Ralf Sturn. Red House issued the resulting album, August Love Song, credited to both artists, in winter 2016.
Her work as a soloist has drawn equal notice to her collaborative projects. She appears regularly on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion in both roles, sharing those broadcasts with Elvis Costello, Wynton Marsalis, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, and Emmylou Harris. Contemporary bluegrass outfit the Wayfaring Strangers and Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing have also featured her, while 2006 brought a recording with the contemporary string band Joy Kills Sorrow. She further fronted the Brooklyn collective Heather & the Barbarians on the album Tell Me Tonight.
Her first solo outing, the 2008 EP Many Moons, paired her with pianist Jed Wilson on jazz-inflected folk duets. Red House Records followed with the full-length Bird Song the next year. Early 2011 saw the Wailin' Jennys issue Bright Morning Stars, which received a Canadian Juno Award in 2013. That same year, Lock My Heart—an album of jazz standards and original material recorded with pianist Dick Hyman—spent an extended period on the jazz charts.
Residing in New York's Catskills, Masse encountered jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd at a Prairie Home Companion taping. The two soon realized they lived nearby, prompting Rudd to ask her to contribute vocals to his 2014 Sunnyside release Trombone for Lovers. Their rapport led, during Rudd's 80th year in 2015, to a joint project of standards and originals supported by bassist Mark Helias and guitarist Ralf Sturn. Red House issued the resulting album, August Love Song, credited to both artists, in winter 2016.
Albums
