for three years, masakowski worked in a duet with pianist ellis marsalis, jr. 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. he released two albums for blue note records: "what it was" (1994) and "direct axecess" (1995). new orleans guitarist, banjoist, and historian danny barker wrote the liner notes for "what it was". when barker died in 1994, he bequeathed his acoustic guitar to masakowski.