Take Off Collective members Ole Mathisen (sax), Matthew Garrison (bass) and Marko Djordjevic (drums) became friends at Boston’s Berklee College of Music as the second millennium was winding down. Since then, they have built careers as bandleaders; sidemen to world renown notables as well as unique and innovative instrumentalist.
Their eclectic tastes, penchant for honest and unpremeditated improvisation and a thirty-year strong friendship brought them to a musical situation different from any other they have taken part in to date.
Neither leaders nor sidemen, they are real-time composers and performers of music that is invented on stage in front of an audience. Their music has been described as virtuosic, adventurous, intense, innovative, disorienting, provocative, engaging…
Each Take Off Collective concert is a moment ceasing, supremely intimate, music-transcending event.
About ONA
ONA’s universal message mines the depths of what it means to be a woman. Translated to “SHE” from her family’s native Croatian, “ONA” 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.
ONA’s core premise crystalized in 2017 after Thana attended the Women’s March on Washington, D.C., the largest single day protest in American history. Deeply moved by the powerful speeches given at the March, she was inspired to learn more about the stories of the women in her own family and the influence that their life experiences have had on her own development, growth and sense of freedom. The culmination of a series of conversations with her mother and paternal grandmother – in which she learned many untold details about their lives and the matrilineal lineage of her family – led her to explore the battles and burdens of contemporary women everywhere through the lens of five elements: the mind, the soul, sexuality, the struggle to redefine gender ascribed roles in relationships, and one’s inner strength. The difficulties that confronted her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother before her, and the barriers that historically blocked their paths, shone a light on the creative and unique ways all women have learned to survive, evolve and resist injustice. ONA is a musical story of self-discovery, resistance, protest and a demand for change. It represents the powerful and unapologetically free, feminine spirit that lives within every one of us.
Video- ONA
“ONA” Music & Lyrics by Thana Alexa Performed solo with BOSS RC505, TC Helicon Voice LiveTouch2, Telefunken M80
