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Rachel Spencer - Trumpet

Jerry Espinoza - Saxophones

Andy Langham - Piano

Liam O’Dell - Bass

Mike Gordon - Drums

Trumpeter Rachel Spencer is a jazz artist, composer, and educator whose sound “balances lyric storytelling with expressive soloing—reverent to the tradition, but never trapped by it” (Occhi).

Spencer has performed nationally and internationally as both a bandleader and freelance artist, including serving as lead trumpet on the North American tour of The Addams Family: A Musical Comedy. She has regularly appeared at venues and events including Monk’s Jazz Club, Parker Jazz Club, the Elephant Room, SXSW, and beyond.

This performance celebrates the release of Spencer’s debut album, The Next Right Thing, which has already received international critical acclaim ahead of its September release. Early press has praised Spencer as an artist who “honors the jazz tradition while expanding it,” with critics lauding the album’s melodic writing, emotional depth, and distinctive artistic voice. Disconecta called Spencer “a blazing star, brimming with technique,” declaring, “this album is a triumph of spectacle from beginning to end.”

Written over five years—from the beginning of the pandemic through the completion of her Doctor of Musical Arts degree—The Next Right Thing features seven original compositions exploring mentorship, imposter syndrome, creative joy, and the search for an authentic artistic voice. The album draws its title from a mentor’s enduring advice—“Just focus on doing the next right thing”—and ultimately reflects the courage to choose art over fear, one step at a time.

Alongside her performing career, Dr. Spencer is a dedicated educator with more than fifteen years of teaching experience and an active clinician and masterclass presenter. Her doctoral dissertation offers the first comprehensive study of the later career of trumpeter Blue Mitchell, and in 2025 she received the Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award in support of her artistic work.

Jerry Espinoza – Saxophone

Chris Cermak – trumpet

Andy Langham – Piano

Bruno Avitia – Bass

Chris Torres – Drums

Born in Laredo, Texas, Jerry Espinoza received his bachelor's degree in Classical Saxophone Performance at Texas A&M in Kingsville, under the direction of James Warth. Jerry also earned a master's degree in 2015 in Jazz Studies at Texas State University, with emphasis in arranging, under the direction of Russell Haight and Hank Hehmsoth. Currently, he serving as adjunct professor of saxophone at A&M Kingsville and performs as a freelance musician across Central Texas. This concert will feature original compositions and fresh arrangements of jazz standards penned by Jerry & members across the bandstand.

Marco Antonio Santos – Guitar

Charles Pillow – Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Flute

James Sutter – Bass

Fabio Augustinis - Drums

Guitarist and composer Marco Antonio Santos brings New York-based woodwind player Charles Pillow to Monks Jazz on October 2nd for a performance connected to the recording of Santos’s second album. The concert takes place during a week-long recording session for the project, scheduled for release next year.

The new music explores immigration through personal and observed experiences, with a focus on the psychological aspects of being an immigrant in the United States. Santos’s compositions and arrangements bring together elements of Brazilian music, contemporary jazz, and chamber music, using improvisation and written material to approach themes of identity, belonging, displacement, and adaptation.

Charles Pillow is a saxophonist and multi-woodwind instrumentalist whose career includes work with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Brad Mehldau, Wynton Marsalis, David Liebman, Paul Simon, and Bruce Springsteen, among many others. His own projects include reworkings of classical repertoire as well as his Electric Miles recordings, which explore the electric music of Miles Davis through large-ensemble arranging. Since 2012, Pillow has served as Assistant Professor of Jazz Saxophone at the Eastman School of Music.

Originally from Minas Gerais, Brazil, Marco Antonio Santos is a guitarist, composer, arranger, and educator based in Austin, Texas. His work moves between jazz, Brazilian music, and contemporary composition, with influences ranging from Milton Nascimento and Maria Schneider to Radiohead and Jakob Bro. His 2023 debut album, About: Silence, used music alongside visual art, dance, and poetry to explore different meanings of silence. Santos has performed and recorded with artists including Nenê, Di Melo, Hilda Maria, Rique Pantoja, Marshall Gilkes, Bryan Carter, Chad LB, and André “Limão” Queiroz.

Ross Margitza - Piano

Miguel Rodriguez - Double Bass

Josh Berry - Drums

Dr. Ross Margitza is a distinguished pianist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and educator. He resides in Austin, TX where he serves as a Lecturer in Jazz Studies/Jazz Piano at the University of Texas at Austin. Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, he began his musical journey under the guidance of his father and grandfather, both professional pianists. He started playing piano at age six and trumpet at age ten. Inspired by Oscar Peterson's recording of “West Side Story,” Ross pursued a career in jazz.

An award-winning pianist, Dr. Margitza clinched first place in the 2024 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition and second place in the 2009 Phillips Jazz Piano Competition. He has performed alongside acclaimed musicians such as Russell Malone, Jon Faddis, Phil Woods, Patti Austin, Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson, Roy McCurdy, Antonio Hart, Lynn Roberts, and Christian McBride. His credits also include performances with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Detroit Jazz Orchestra, Glenn Miller Orchestra, and Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

Internationally, Ross has performed in Japan, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Spain, and Canada, as well as major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., and New York. As an educator, his previous appointments include serving as the Director of Instrumental Music at both Flintridge Preparatory School near Los Angeles and also St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin. In 2023, he taught collegiately as the Jazz Piano Instructor at Huston-Tillotson University.

He holds a Bachelor of Music from Michigan State University, a Master of Music from Northern Illinois University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin.

Michael Malone – Saxophone

Sander Pinheiro – Guitar & Vocals

Sofia Kriger – Vocals

Isma Ciriaco – Bass

Michael Longoria – Drums

Michael Malone is an internationally renowned saxophonist and composer whose career spans more than four decades of professional performance, touring, and recording. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, and former Cincinnati resident, Malone has built a diverse career performing alongside some of the most respected names in jazz and contemporary music.

A major chapter of Malone’s career included five years touring internationally with legendary jazz organist Jimmy Smith. His performance credits also include appearances with drummer Cindy Blackman, guitarist Mark Whitfield, and renowned steel pan artist Othello Molineaux of Weather Report.

Malone also led his own group, Just Released, which completed multiple successful tours throughout Europe and Asia. After relocating to Austin, Texas, he became a member and composer with the multiple award-winning Austin group Blaze.

Today, Malone continues to be an active presence in the Austin music scene. He currently leads the Austin-based band NuJazzswing and performs extensively with jazz organ extraordinaire Red Young. He also collaborates with a variety of other Austin-area artists and ensembles, including acclaimed vocalist Pamela Hart and Rabbi Neal Blumofe's Wednesday night jazz meetings.

Drawing on more than 40 years of experience, Malone brings together jazz tradition, contemporary influences, improvisation, and composition to create a distinctive musical voice that reflects a lifetime devoted to performance.