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Mike De Masi

Mike De Masi is a double bassist and electric bassist active on the Montreal music scene. After graduating in 2012 from the renown Schulich School of Music at McGill University with a bachelors in Jazz, having studied with some of Montreal’s finest musicians including Fraser Hollins, Chet Doxas, and Jan Jarczyk, he went on to record on award-winning alto-sax player Becky Noble’s 2013 album Salish Folk Song (Effendi). He also had the great fortune of performing at the 2013 Cairo Jazz Festival with Egyptian-Canadian musician Ali El-Farouk with special guest Nubian singer and master oud player Karam Mourad. He appears on Lulu Hughes’ 2010 rock big band album entitled Lulu Hughes and the Montreal All City Big Band (Star.Ca).

De Masi has collaborated with some of Montreal's best such as Al McLean, Josh Rager, Daniel Lessard, Andre White, Kevin Dean, Jessica Vigneault, Dawn Tyler Watson among others. He also had the great pleasure of studying with Rufus Reid, Matt Brewer, and Larry Grenadier.

Some highlights of De Masi’s work in recent years as a sideman are performing with Benny Benack III as part of the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2023, touring in projects led by Sam Kirmayer as well as appearing on Kirmayer's 2017 release Opening Statement (Chromatic Audio), touring in groups led by Susie Arioli, playing in Québec city in a trio led by David Alain as the opening act for Gilad Hekselman in 2015, and performing in Montreal saxophonist Tevet Sela’s group in a concert featuring New York based pianist Roy Assaf in 2014. He’s also had the fortune of performing live in trio with Jean-Michel Pilc since 2017. He is also featured on Andre White’s 2016 release Esprit De Corps with Bill Coon. De Masi has performed live with Mathieu Soucy and recorded on his 2022 album Recollecting.

Having completed a masters degree at McGill University in 2018, studying with Rémi Bolduc, Jean-Michel Pilc and François Bourassa, De Masi now currently teaches electric bass at Vanier College. He also leads his own projects and is working on releasing his debut album as a leader, "A Moment of Introspection," in Spring 2024.

Mathieu Soucy: Recollecting

Read "Recollecting" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
December 12, 2022

Guitarist Mathieu Soucy, a 2019 graduate of Canada's McGill University, in Montreal, hits the ground running with a splendid debut album, Recollecting, on which he guides a talented quartet of young musicians through seven of his engaging compositions plus Thelonious Monk's “Reflections" and the well-traveled Rodgers and Hart standard, “Where or When" (sung by Humber College alum Caity Gyorgy). Gyorgy is heard on one other number, “Thinker and a Fool," a bright samba whose cryptic lyric is ...

Primary Instrument

Bass, acoustic

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

Mike De Masi has been teaching Double Bass and Electric Bass for several years, has coached Jazz combos, and prepared a course on Jazz Ear-Training while serving as teaching assistant during his Graduate studies at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University. He is currently on staff at Vanier College teaching Bass.