Cosmic String Duo

Cosmic String Duo brings together innovative bassist and luthier Martin Masakowski and virtuosic violinist Ira Echo for an intimate evening of all-acoustic, contemporary chamber folk music. Drawing from years of individual world travel and shared roots in improvisation, the duo weaves together jazz, global folk traditions, and spontaneous composition into a sound that is both grounded and exploratory.

This special concert takes place at Studio St. Philip and marks Ira Echo’s return to New Orleans for a rare local performance. With no amplification and a strong emphasis on listening, interaction, and space, the duo creates music that feels at once ancient, modern, and entirely alive in the moment.

Violinist Ira Echo is a genre-crossing improviser and composer whose sound is shaped by travel, movement, and deep study of folk traditions. He has studied Romanian music in Kalotaszentkirály (Sâncraiu), Transylvania, and remains active as a jazz musician in various scenes globally. Ira’s multiple long-distance bicycle music tours around the world have given him a wide palette of sounds and rhythmic ideas that inform both his improvisation and composition.

Following the COVID period, Ira shifted his focus from primarily jazz performance toward composing music for dancers and physical theater, further expanding his musical language. In addition to jazz, his playing is informed by Brazilian chorinho and forró, Norwegian Hardanger fiddle traditions, and Indian carnatic music, resulting in a highly expressive and rhythmically fluid approach to the violin. Ira is currently based in Bellingham Washington and is returning to the city for this special performance.

Bassist and luthier Martin Masakowski was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, into a deeply musical family. His artistic path began with visual arts before transitioning fully into music at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). Martin studied jazz at the University of New Orleans, then moved to The Netherlands to complete his bachelor’s degree at the Rotterdam Conservatory.

He spent several years touring internationally with the Eastern European folk band The Balcony Players, performing across more than 20 countries and visiting Roma villages to study regional music and culture firsthand. These travels, combined with his New Orleans roots, have shaped a musical voice that spans jazz, folk, classical, experimental, electronic, Eastern European, and Indian traditions.

Inspired by years of touring with an upright bass, Martin recently designed and built his own custom travel double bass, with plans to produce instruments for traveling musicians. He earned a Master’s in Jazz Performance from the University of New Orleans in 2019 and is currently based in New Orleans, performing regularly at venues such as Snug Harbor and The Spotted Cat, while continuing to push the rhythmic and harmonic possibilities of the double bass.

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Host or Publisher Jeanne Jaubert