Monks Livestream's Upcoming Shows

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for Simon Elliott | TXST Junior Recital! Simon Elliott – Tenor and Alto Saxophones Kyle Stoking – Guitars Agusto Benavides – Keys Braeden Connolly – Bass Adrian Saenz – Drums Simon Elliott is an up-and-coming saxophonist in Central Texas, with performance experience in the jazz, blues, and funk scenes in the area. Beginning his studies in California, he discovered his love of jazz in middle school, carrying it through high school, college, and turning it into a professional career. Raised between East Texas and the West Coast, his sound brings a distinctive voice to the jazz landscape, drawing on the music of legendary artists such as Benny Golson, Roy Hargrove, Pat Metheny, and Stevie Ray Vaughan for this recital. He is currently earning his degree in jazz saxophone at Texas State University, studying with legendary musicians such as Joel Frahm, Tito Carrillo, Arthur Latin II, and many more. 

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Adrian Ruiz Quintet! Adrian Ruiz – Trumpet, Flugelhorn Seth Carper – Alto and Soprano Saxophones Collin Shook – Piano Aaron Allen – Bass Gerry Gibbs – Drums Dr. Adrian Ruiz is active as a freelance trumpeter, having performed throughout the states of Texas and Iowa. In February 2021, he received a Grammy nomination in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category for Live at the Paramount with the Ruthie Foster Big Band. In June 2021, Ruiz authored a series of Claudio Roditi transcriptions, which are available through Press Music Publishing. Ruiz has performed internationally at the Guatemala, Montreux, North Sea, and Taichung Jazz Festivals. He has shared the stage with the following musical acts: John Clayton, Jon Hendricks, Norah Jones, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, James Moody, Joshua Redman, Maria Schneider, and Clark Terry. In addition to his performance schedule, Ruiz has presented clinics and performances at the Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference, the Iowa Music Educators Association (IMEA), the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) and the Texas Bandmasters Association (TBA) Conventions. In May 2017, Ruiz made his recording debut as a leader, releasing his first full length album entitled Premiere: A Collection Of Originals. Scott Yanow, acclaimed jazz journalist/historian and author, states the following concerning Premiere: "Adrian Ruiz is an impressive trumpeter who makes his recording debut as a leader on Premiere...In addition to being a fine showcase for the Adrian Ruiz Quintet, Premiere: A Collection Of Originals, is a fun set of creative jazz that is easily recommended." Ruiz received his Bachelor of Music Studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Master of Music from Texas State University, and Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Trumpet Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Ruiz is a Featured Artist for Schilke Music Products Inc., in Melrose Park, Illinois. 

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Butler School of Music's Spring Recitals! Featuring performances from Mati Soto, Zak Danami, Reuben Akins, Harrison Murphy and Annie Nguyen, and Aidan Berg! 9:00 AM • Mati Soto BM 11:00 AM • Zak Danami BM 1:00 PM • Reuben Akins BM 3:00 PM • Harrison Murphy and Annie Nguyen BM 5:00 PM • Aidan Berg BM 

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for Alexander Roddy | TXST Graduate Recital! Alexander Roddy – Tenor Saxophone Frank Chapa – Alto/Tenor Saxophone James Rubino – Piano Mercedes Solis – Bass Nic Aguon – Drums Alexander Roddy is a saxophonist based in San Marcos, Texas, and a current graduate student at Texas State University. As a lifelong student of music, Roddy has spent a large amount of time studying with various great musicians and educators such as Dr. Russell Haight, Dr. Utah Hamrick, Dr. Joey Colarusso, and his current mentor, the world renowned saxophonist Joel Frahm. Roddy's sound can be described as a sophisticated one - with a tone range that spans from full and monstrous to delicate and floating. His technique blends the bebop traditions of Sonny Rollins & Johnny Griffin, the harmonic complexities of Thelonious Monk & Joe Henderson, and Ornette Coleman's artistic freedom and desire to push the extremes of musical improvisation. Roddy has spent the last 4 years working as a bandleader and sideman in the greater central Texas scene, engrossing himself in a variety of genres to develop himself as a well-rounded musician, including jazz, Latin, funk, and R&B. As this show marks the closing chapter of Roddy’s educational development at Texas State University, he looks forward to further enriching himself in the vibrant jazz scene of Austin, Texas. 

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Butler School of Music Jazz Ensemble Directed by Mike Sailors! Saxophones: Clayton Bristol, Ben Goodman, Kole Aitola, Ripley Swingle and Shaym Thandullu Trumpets Joey Risberg, Solomon Tejada and Devin Merchant Trombones Austin Dalbey, Matthew Puente and Michael Nowell Rhythm Section Ori Moore and Ryan Townsend – Piano Chelsea Deroach and Oscar Bukowitz – Bass Jaylon Alley and Harrison Murphy – Drums 

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Trinity University Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dr. Ryan Hagler. Trinity University is one of the nation's top private universities and located in the culturally rich city of San Antonio. In 2022-2023, Trinity was recognized as one of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges (including #1 ranking in Texas) by U.S. News and World Report. With 2,500 students from 47 states and 40 countries, Trinity is known for its stimulating, diverse, and collaborative environment. Students benefit from a flexible curriculum which includes 57 majors, 63 minors, and 6 masters degrees. An endowment of 2 billion dollars greatly enhances the learning environment, including a 8:1 student/faculty ratio, 98% of students awarded financial aid, and over 80% of students receiving funded internships or undergraduate research. The Department of Music is located in the state-of-the-art Ruth Taylor Fine Arts Center and has 11 full-time faculty and 20 part-time artist-teachers, providing music instruction to more than 500 students from across campus. Trinity offers a BA in Music and BM degrees in Music Education, Performance, and Composition. Performing ensembles, open to all students by audition, include the Trinity Choir, Chamber Singers, Voix d’Esprit, Choral Union, Collegium Musicum, Opera Workshop, Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Handbell Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo, Saxophone Ensemble, Flute Choir, Percussion Ensemble, Brass Quintet, and numerous student-led groups. In 2014, Trinity was named an All-Steinway School. Trinity is one of the few Texas schools that offers music scholarships to both music and non-music majors. 

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert celebrating the Birthday Anniversary of Great American Composer Charles Mingus with Eric Mingus! A must-see for jazz lovers, this unforgettable evening features a rare and special gift from Eric to the Music Community of Texas, followed by a late night jam. Eric Mingus – Vocals Diego Rivera - Saxophones Theo Hill – Piano Boris Kozlov – Bass Daniel Dufour – Drums “Making the complicated simple – awesomely simple – that’s creativity” – Charles Mingus Multi-instrumentalist, composer, vocalist, and poet Eric Mingus has been steeped in the jazz tradition since birth, using that foundation to create musical worlds that sit outside genre while remaining deeply informed by it. Born in New York City to Charles and Judy Mingus, he grew up under and around the piano as his father composed, studied cello and music theory with Charles, drums with Dannie Richmond, and later shifted to double bass while winning awards for his vocal performances in school. After early studies (including a stint at Berklee), he took his education to the road, touring as a vocalist with Carla Bley, Bobby McFerrin, and Karen Mantler, and performing with Percy Heath, Jimmy Heath, George Adams, Don Pullen, Wolfgang Puschnig, Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra, and others, with appearances at major festivals from Berlin, Montreal, and Saalfelden to Adelaide, Bonnaroo, and NYC’s Summerstage and Celebrate Brooklyn. Eric’s work as a writer and composer includes commissions for the Berlin Jazz Festival (poems marking the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1964 Berlin speech), Yo-Yo Ma’s Our Common Nature initiative, and the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris, as well as an in-progress family-history project performed with Yo-Yo Ma at the Mingus Mill burial ground of his enslaved ancestors. His long-running commitment to spoken word and jazz includes a duo with the inimitable Howard Johnson and a celebrated recording of Langston Hughes’ poetry with David Amram; he has also engaged selectively with his father’s repertoire, from Mingus Dynasty’s Blues and Politics to writing lyrics and singing “Work Song (Break the Chains)” on The Charles Mingus Centennial Sessions. An active educator, Eric serves as a judge and educator for the annual Charles Mingus High School competition and has led workshops, masterclasses, and lectures at institutions including Berklee, Harvard, UC Irvine, London’s Community Music House, Banlieues Bleues, and In Situ Arts Society; he recently completed a new solo recording for Ouch! Records and continues to perform and develop new work. “Eric Mingus has the kind of voice to die for, truly; so evocative.” — I-94 Bar Unveiling “Memories of a Dragon – The Mingus Spirit” An art installation for the Musicians of Austin, inspired by Charles Mingus’ Roth “Lion-head bass” Note from the Artist: Memories of a Dragon – The Mingus Spirit is my carved response to the bass that stood beside my father for most of his life: the dragon‑headed instrument that witnessed him in the LA studios with the Jazz All Stars, onstage with Bird and Monk at the Open Door, and through the arc of his career. This piece imagines what that bass absorbed—every night, every sideman, every fight over who gets to hold the story—and turns those memories into a new object for the Mingus line. Note from the Producer: We are pleased to present this singular work to the musicians and listeners of Austin, Texas. May it be a totem for the community – to inspire and remind us the depths at which we are able to reach, the breadth of expressible human experience, and the density of substance available to us in pursuit of a rich and meaningful musical life, as we share our artistry, curiosity, and hearts in connection with each other. Presented by The Jazz Purveyor