Monks Livestream's Upcoming Shows

5:00 PM Early Show with Mercedes Solis

7:30 PM Late Show with Bruce Saunders

About Mercedes Solis:

Mercedes Solis is bassist born and raised in Austin, TX. She graduated from Austin Community College, completing her associates in 2024, studying with Dr. James Suter, Jacob Wise, and Dr. Steven Sodders. After getting her associates, she transferred to Texas State University where she completed her Bachelor of Jazz Performance degree in 2026, studying under Dr. Utah Hamrick and Tito Carillo.

Mercedes is the founder of Women of Jazz TX, a member of the Austin Federation of Musicians Local 433, and a musician for Austin Jazz Workshop. She has had the opportunity to perform alongside some of the most outstanding national and local musicians of our time such as Tito Carrillo, Daniel Dufour, Elias Haslanger, Peggy Stern, Hank Hemsoth, Mara Kaye, Matt Berger, Bruce Saunders, Rosie Flores, Jim Stringer, Mark Scott III, and Sam Howden. She has also toured the country with The Grand Ol’ Production Company for their “Grand Ol’ Americana Show” and “Grand Ol’ Christmas Show” 2025 and 2026 productions.

About Bruce Saunders:

Bruce Saunders is a guitarist, composer and educator currently residing in Austin, TX. After receiving his Masters degree in jazz/classical guitar from the University of North Texas in 1986 he moved to New York City where he was a resident until late 2013. During his tenure in NY he recorded, performed and toured with some of the worlds best jazz musicians. Since moving to Austin he has played with many of the world class jazz musicians in the city and state. Saunders is currently a lecturer at the University of Texas/Austin’s Butler School of Music where he teaches private guitar lessons and a faculty member of Berklee’s Online University (BOL) where he developed and teaches two jazz guitar courses.

Program:

6:30 PM | Doors & Meet & Greet

7:30 PM | Live Interview with John Page and Zak Kuhn

9:00 PM | Concert Performance

About John Page

John Page is a legendary guitar designer, master builder, and founder of John Page Guitars. After joining Fender in 1978, Page became one of the company’s youngest guitar designers and, in 1987, co-founded and led the Fender Custom Shop—known as the “Dream Factory”—for more than a decade. Over a career spanning more than 50 years, he has designed instruments for artists including Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, and Elliot Easton. Today, Page continues his work crafting distinctive, hand-built instruments through John Page Guitars, bringing his celebrated philosophy of “uniquely familiar” design to a new generation of players.

About Matt Muehling

Matt Muehling is an Austin-based guitarist and versatile multi-genre musician whose work spans jazz, funk, rock, R&B, and experimental music. A longtime fixture of the Austin music scene, Muehling is a member of acclaimed groups including Progger, JARS, Open2.o, and Sketch, and performs as a member of the Kill Tony Band. He has also worked alongside artists including Jon Batiste, Bruno Mars, Gary Clark Jr., and the Black Pumas. Known for his exceptional versatility and deeply expressive playing, Muehling is one of Austin’s most in-demand guitarists and a prominent voice in the city’s contemporary jazz and fusion scene.

About Chris McQueen

Chris McQueen is an Austin-born guitarist, composer, and arranger best known as an original member of the five-time Grammy-winning instrumental collective Snarky Puppy. He is also a co-leader of the groove-oriented group Forq and a member of the Grammy-nominated world music ensemble Bokanté. McQueen began playing and recording music in Austin as a child, later studying jazz at the University of North Texas and performing with the acclaimed One O’Clock Lab Band. His playing draws from jazz, funk, rock, R&B, and experimental music, and his work has taken him around the world with some of the most innovative groups in contemporary music. He continues to live and work in Austin.

About the Zak Kuhn Show

Each week, Zak gives his audience an all-access pass to the biggest names in music and entertainment. These are not your typicle PR-polished interviews – they're candid discussions about the challenges, triumphs, and pivotal moments that shape careers. Whether you're a fan curious about the inner workings, an aspiring musician or an industry professional, you'll find actionable advice and inspiring stories in every episode.

Michael Longoria – Drums

Brian Donohoe – Keyboard, Saxophone

Michael Malone – Saxophone

Daniel Durham – Bass

Michael Longoria is an Austin-based drummer and percussionist with more than 30

years as a professional touring and studio musician. Born in 1974 to a music educator

on the Texas-Mexico border, he grew up immersed in the music and culture of “La

Frontera,” which continues to shape his musical identity and approach to rhythm.

After moving to Austin in 1989, Michael began touring with Texas music legend Joe

"King" Carrasco in 1994. Since then, he has toured internationally and performed or

recorded with acclaimed artists including Patty Griffin, Joel Guzman, Stephen Bruton,

Amos Lee, Eric Johnson, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Indigo Girls, Bob Schneider,

Marc Ribot, Mestrinho, Tita Lima, Yaniel Matos, Tomas Ramirez, Pete Rodriguez, and

many others.

A highly versatile, genre-spanning musician, Michael moves fluidly among Jazz,

Americana, Hip-Hop, R&B, Neo-Soul, Latin, Afro-Caribbean,

and World Music. His recent work reflects that range, performing and

recording with artists and projects including Universal Seedz, Atash, Muthabug, JaRon

Marshall, Adrian Quesada, Curtis Harding, Magna Carda, Doppel, Michael Malone

and others.

Michael’s television appearances include Austin City Limits, Late Show with David

Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good

Morning America, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

Rooted in the musical traditions of “La Frontera” and shaped by decades of

collaboration, Michael brings a distinctive rhythmic voice and cross-cultural sensibility to

every performance and recording.

Every Wednesday, Monks opens the stage up for a late-night jazz jam hosted by Austin's very own Daniel Dufour.

This livestream is free and open for public viewership!

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.