Surprising is the word that perhaps best describes Grammy® nominated vocalist, composer, producer, and festival director, Thana Alexa. An extraordinarily creative force, her 2x Grammy® nominated album ONA (self-release, 2020) 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. Her music pushes the boundaries of genre with deep seeded roots in jazz and overtones of alternative world music and electronic soundscapes, placing importance on social activism, mental healthawareness & uplifting female voices.

In January 2025, Alexa was one of 49 artists awarded the prestigious Creative Capital Award for her subsequent project, RESONANCE (set to premiere in 2026/ 2027) – a song cycle that will explore how sound frequencies can trigger physiological and molecular reactions in the body and affect mental health. Alexa’s forthcoming album of duos – set for release in late 2025 – showcases her powerful vocal production and arrangements of favorite songs ranging from The Beatles to Björk and features a tour de force of artists including Bill Frisell, John Patitucci, Ben Wendel, Nicole Zuraitis, Joel Ross, Adam Rogers, and others.

In 2023 Alexa co-founded and is the artistic director of the Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival in Croatia, which stands as a beacon for the elevation of young professional musicians from the region, a creative haven for internationally touring performing artists, and introduces Croatian audiences to new and innovative music that is pushing boundaries musically and socio-politically.

One of Alexa’s most important collaborations has been with her husband, four-time Grammy winning drummer, Antonio Sánchez (composer for the Oscar winning Birdman film and drummer with Pat Metheny for 20 years). Together they have recorded nine albums between Alexa’s projects and Sánchez’s groups Migration and Bad Hombre, and most recently were commission by University of California Northridge to write Existencia, a piece written for voice, drums and physical movement, premiered in 2024 together with LA based dance company DIAVOLO: Architecture In Motion, which unpacks theimpacts of natural disaster, devastation, human resilience, and community rebuilding.