周艷霞

對于史蒂夫和他的女兒薩莎而言，爵士樂就像一條紐帶，將這對音樂家父女緊緊聯(lián)系在一起。

For Steve Masakowski and his daughter Sasha Masakowski， jazz deepens the bond between the father and daughter musicians.

Steve Masakowski is a jazz guitar player， composer and educator from New Orleans， Louisiana. Sasha Masakowski， his daughter， is a singer and jazz musician in New Orleans in Louisiana.

Sasha Masakowskis earliest memories would be watching her father perform at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival with his band. She thinks what she loves about jazz is the freedom where they have to really find their own voice.

Steve Masakowski would play music together with his daughter and he used to sit her daughter down at the piano when she was a little girl. The father would teach her daughter ear training and try to teach her how to improvise（即興創(chuàng)作） while he played the guitar.

Sasha Masakowski is a really great composer and lyricist. In fact when the father asks her to write lyrics for some of his compositions， she always comes out with just brilliant lyrics， which he is very proud of. Also， shes a great solo artist. She wants his dad to know that she is just so deeply grateful to him in her life who is both a musician and a father that she can play with. In her eyes， her father is one of the most generous and kindest people she has ever known. He is totally selfless and she thinks hes taught her a lot about what it means to have a really strong person in her life. “My dad is super smart and can do anything himself. We all have our own separate careers， but we get together. As a family， we tend to find common ground in New Orleans music or original compositions and things like that，” says the daughter.

These days， the father and daughter still work together， along with another musician， Sashas brother Martin. They perform together as the Masakowski Family Band.

Reading?Check

1. What does Sasha Masakowski like about jazz？

A. Its fine lyrics.

B. Its hidden freedom.

C. Its unique style.

D. Its cultural background.

2. What can be inferred about Steve Masakowski and Sasha Masakowski？

A. They both write lyrics.

B. They hardly perform together.

C. They love music respectively.

D. They have common careers.

3. What can be also used as a title for the text？

A. The origin of jazz music

B. What can we learn from jazz music？

C. Jazz deepens bond between father and daughter

D. Jazz music goes popular in New Orleans， Louisiana

Language Study

音樂詞匯知多少，試試就知曉。Music！

Complete the passage with the proper form of the words in the box. One is extra.

[compose? ?guitar? ?band? ?educator? ?origin? ?perform]

Sasha Masakowski is a really great 1.? ______? and lyricist. She writes both music and the words for songs. Her compositions are brilliant， which her father， a jazz 2.? ______?player， is proud of. The father and daughter work together and create many great 3.?______? ?pieces. They also 4.?______ ?together as the Masakowski Family 5.? ______ .