Anthony M. "Tony" Monaco (born August 14, 1959) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

organist. at The Hammond Jazz Inventory

Biography

Monaco played

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

from childhood and was heavily influenced by Jimmy Smith in his youth. In 1971, he switched to organ after hearing Smith play the instrument, and later received personal mentoring from Smith. In the early 2000s, he recorded his debut album in collaboration with

Joey DeFrancesco Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz perfo ...

, '' A New Generation: Paesanos on the New B3'' which reached No. 18 on ''Jazzweek's Top 100'' for the year 2003, and began releasing material on

Summit Records Summit Records, Inc. is an internationally distributed record label that evolved out of the large brass ensemble Summit Brass in the late 1980s. It was established by David Hickman and Ralph Sauer. Four Summit Records recordings have been nom ...

. Monaco's career continued in the 2000s with frequent touring and performances with guitarist

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Biography Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" ...

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

International Critics Poll placed Monaco in the top 5 jazz organists for the years 2005–2011. His most commercially successful album was ''East to West'' which reached No. 4 on ''Jazzweek's Top 100'' for the year 2006. Monaco is also noted for his efforts in jazz education and holds the position Artist in Residence in Music at

Hope College Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman college class matricul ...

Playing style and critical reception

Monaco's work, along with several contemporaries, is associated with a minor resurgence of "

Chitlin' Circuit The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other enterta ...

" style jazz.

Discography

As leader

* ''The Monacos Are Moving Up'' (Blue Ash Records, 1976) with The Monaco Family * ''Continentale Disco (The Monacos in Europe)'' (Blue Ash Records, 1979) with The Monaco Family * ''Getting in Touch!'' (Light 'n Jazzy 103.9fm WBBY, 1989) * ''Out of Nowhere'' (1999) Tony Monaco Organ Trio with

(piano/trumpet),

Paul Bollenback Paul Norris Bollenback (born June 6, 1959) is a jazz guitarist who has appeared on ''Entertainment Tonight'', ''The Tonight Show'', ''The Today Show'', ''Joan Rivers'', and ''Good Morning America''. He has performed with Scott Ambush, Charlie B ...

(guitar), Byron "Wookie" Landham (drums) * ''Burnin' Grooves'' (

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

, 2001) * ''Master Chops 'T' '' (Summit, 2002) * ''Intimately Live at the 501'' (Summit, 2002) * ''A New Generation: Paesanos on the New B3'' (Summit, 2003) with Joey DeFrancesco * ''Fiery Blues'' (Summit, 2004) * ''East to West'' (Summit, 2006) with Bruce Forman * ''Live at the Orbit Room'' (Summit, 2008) Tony and his Toronto Trio with Ted Quinlin, Vito Rezza * ''Celebration: Life, Love, Music'' (Summit, 2012) with Joey DeFrancesco * ''Live at Cotton Club Japan'' (Mocloud, 2013) with Yosuke Onuma, Gene Jackson * ''New Adventures'' (TMHP, 2014) with Howard R. Paul, Jim Rupp * ''Groove: Blue'' (Q-Rious, 2015) with Vinny Valentino,

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

* ''Furry Slippers'' (Summit, 2015) * ''At One'' (Mocloud, 2016) with Yosuke Onuma, Gene Jackson * ''The Definition of Insanity'' (Summit, 2019) * ''The Keys of Cool'' (RCP, 2019) with Richie Cole * ''Strollin' '' (Reid Hoyson Productions, 2021) with

Hendrik Meurkens Hendrik may refer to: * Hendrik (given name) * Hans Hendrik, Greenlandic Arctic traveller and interpreter * Hendrik Island, an island in Greenland * Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, a municipality in the Netherlands * A character from ''Dragon Quest XI'' See ...

, Reid Hoyson, Mark Lucas * ''Four Brothers'' (Summit, 2022) with Kevin Turner, Eddie Bayard, Willie Barthell III

As sideman

* ''Moanin' '', Nancy Wright (Summit, 2009) * ''A Night in Jazz'',

Ray Mantilla Raymond Mantilla (June 22, 1934 – March 21, 2020) was an American percussionist. Discography As leader * ''Mantilla'' (Inner City, 1978) * ''Hands of Fire'' (Red, 1984) * ''Synergy'' (Red, 1986) * ''Dark Powers'' (Red, 1988) * ''The Next Step ...

(M.M.C. Produzioni s.r.l., 2010) * ''Undeniable: Live at Blues Alley'',

(

HighNote HighNote Records is a jazz record company and label founded by Joe Fields with his son, Barney Fields, in 1997. Joe Fields worked for Prestige Records in the 1960s, and in the 1970s founded Muse Records. After he sold Muse, he started the Highn ...

, 2011)

References

External links

Official site
*
Tony Monaco
at

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

Tony Monaco
at AllAboutJazz {{DEFAULTSORT:Monaco, Tony Soul-jazz organists American jazz organists American male organists Hard bop organists American jazz educators 1959 births Living people Jazz musicians from Ohio 21st-century organists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century American keyboardists Summit Records artists