Pablo Masis

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Pablo spent his childhood years in northern Arizona on the Navajo Indian Reservation before moving to Billings, Montana. After graduating from High School, he studied classical trumpet with Robert Levy and received a Bachelor of Music degree from Lawrence University. Following a year of Graduate study in classical trumpet under Dennis Najoom at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he moved to New Orleans, where he studied with Terence Blanchard, Clyde Kerr Jr. and Ed Petersen, and received a Masters Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of New Orleans.

After two years in New Orleans, Pablo moved to Omaha Nebraska in 2004, where he was an active freelancer, performing across the Midwest.  He attended the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency at the Kennedy Center in 2007 and also participated in the Banff Centre’s Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music in 2009, led by Dave Douglas.  In 2009 he released his first album of original compositions, titled “Half Past”, featuring Omaha musicians Chris Steinke on saxophone, Mitch Towne on piano, Anthony King on bass, and Dana Murray on drums.

Pablo moved to New York City in 2009, and has become an active freelancer and educator. He has performed at New York venues including Joe’s Pub, The Blue Note, Arlene’s Grocery, The Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Waldorf Astoria, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Irving Plaza, Littlefield, Shapeshifter Lab, and The Cornelia Street Cafe, among others. In addition to his own group showcasing Pablo’s original music around New York City, he has performed with a variety of New York based ensembles including Kyle Saulnier’s Awakening Orchestra, Bobby Sanabria’s Multiverse Big Band, and the David White Jazz Orchestra.

In 2012 Pablo released his second recording with a quintet of musicians from New York, titled “Intrinsic”, featuring Chad Lefkowitz-Brown on Tenor Sax, Alex Brown on Piano, Linda Oh on Bass, and Jared Schonig on Drums.

After the release of “Intrinsic”, Pablo decided to pursue writing music for a smaller, more intimate ensemble. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, he went into the studio with Aidan Carrol on bass and Jared Schonig on drums. This, his third release, titled “Rubicon”, was released June 30th, 2014 and features five original compositions written for Trumpet/Bass/Drums.

Pablo has appeared across the United States and Europe including New York, Seattle, Portland, New Orleans, Washington DC, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Poland. Pablo has presented concerts and masterclasses at Rocky Mountain College, South Dakota State University, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

In February 2015 Pablo traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan where he was a guest artist with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music for their Winter Academy. While there he gave individual and group lessons to the school’s brass students, taught a series of introductory jazz classes, performed in recitals, and assisted with outreach for Afghanistan’s only music school.

Pablo currently lives in Brooklyn, where is he on the teaching faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.