Early life Masakowski was born in
New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 2, 1954. The Beatles influenced his desire to play guitar. When he was fourteen, he played bass guitar and co-founded the band Truth, which was based on the rock band
Cream. In high school he became interested in composing, and he started taking guitar lessons to learn about harmony. His teacher introduced him to the music of jazz guitarists
Joe Pass,
Wes Montgomery,
Pat Martino, and
Lenny Breau. In 1987, he joined
Astral Project. From 1993–1996, he toured with singer
Dianne Reeves. He leads the band Nova NOLA, whose members include his son, double bassist Martin, and his daughter, vocalist
Sasha Masakowski. Inspired by a visit to New Orleans by seven-string guitarist
Bucky Pizzarelli, Masakowski began to explore the
seven-string guitar, first finding an early
Gretsch, then designing his own models which have the expanded range of a normal guitar and bass guitar combined. His custom designs were built by luthiers Jimmy Foster and Salvador Giardina.
Personal life In 1982, Masakowski married German pianist Ulrike Antonie Sprenger. The couple have two children, both professional musicians: vocalist
Sasha Masakowski (b. 1986) and double bassist Martin (b. 1990). Since 2007, the Masakowski family has been playing in bands together, including the group Nova NOLA. In 2017 the Masakowski Family released the album
N.O. Escape, a combination of jazz,
gypsy jazz, and
vocal jazz. Steve Masakowski co-wrote three songs based on the novel
A Confederacy of Dunces. ==Awards and honors==