Monks Livestream's Upcoming Shows

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for George Colligan | Night Two!

George Colligan – Piano

Alex Claffy – Bass

Daniel Dufour – Drums

George Colligan is not only one of the great jazz pianists of his generation, but he has earned an international reputation as a multi-instrumentalist (drums, trumpet, organ, keyboards), composer, accompanist, teacher, and bandleader, as well as popular blogger).

Winner of the 2015 DownBeat magazine Critics Poll (Keyboard), he has had a long association with living jazz legend Jack DeJohnette; recent touring took Colligan around the U.S. with “An Evening with Jack DeJohnette and Savion Glover.” He has also recently toured the U.S. and Canada as a leader with his trio featuring legends Buster Williams and Lenny White. With over 130 albums to date as an accompanist, Colligan has worked with a long list of jazz greats, including John Scofield, Buster Williams, Cassandra Wilson, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, Chris Botti, and many others. His latest album, “Live at The Jazz Standard” (Whirlwind Recordings 2025) is his 40th as a bandleader; the album features Linda may Han Oh and Jack DeJohnette and was a critic’s pick in Downbeat magazine.Colligan, a New York resident for 15 years, now resides in Portland, Oregon where he is a Full Professor at Portland State University. He has recently won two Regional Arts and Culture Council grants, a South Arts Jazz Road grant, and a PSU Faculty Development grant. Colligan recently won the PSU College of The Arts Dean’s Council Award for Research, Scholarship and Creativity (2020), and also won the Researcher of the Year Award from the PSU College Of The Arts(2021).

George Colligan has toured, recorded ,and/or performed as a sideman with Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, Chris Botti, Lonnie Plaxico, Gary Bartz, Benny Golson, Gary Thomas, Miguel Zenon, Tom Harrell, Steve Coleman, Eddie Henderson, Ralph Peterson, Vanessa Rubin, Steve Wilson, Dave Weckl, Richard Bona, Jane Monheit, Ravi Coltrane, Lenny White, Michael Brecker, Mike Clark, Nicholas Payton, Sheila Jordan, Janis Siegel, Christian McBride, Billy Hart, Charles Fambrough, Mingus Big Band, Al Foster, Mark Turner, Don Braden, Lew Soloff, Gunther Schuller, Larry Coryell, Victor Bailey, Carl Allen, Rodney Whitaker, Lee Konitz, Jamie Baum, Michal Urbaniak, , DJ Logic, Randy Brecker, Carlos Santana, and Stefon Harris, among others.

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Alex Claffy Quartet!

Alex Claffy – Bass

Diego Rivera – Tenor Saxophone

George Colligan – Piano

Daniel Dufour – Drums

At age 34, bassist Alexander Claffy has become one of the most in-demand performers of his generation, both as a sideman working with the biggest names in Jazz and Popular music, and also as a bandleader, composer and producer having just released his seventh album as a leader “Alive in Philadelphia, Vol 1 ” in spring 2026 with legends Seamus Blake, Kevin Hays, Bill Stewart and Jaleel Shaw. Living in New York City but born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Claffy is one of the bright new artists in his hometown’s storied lineage, following in the footsteps of Philadelphia bass luminaries such as Christian McBride, Percy Heath and Jimmy Garrison.

His resumé as a sideman reads as a veritable who’s who of Jazz royalty, ranging from Jazz masters such as George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Randy Brecker, Jimmy Cobb, George Cables, Wallace Roney, Mike LeDonne, Fred Hersch, Victor Lewis, and Louis Hayes, to the top stars of today such as Brad Mehldau, Nicholas Payton, Christian Adjtunde Adjuah, Kevin Hays, Benny Green, Carl Allen, Aaron Parks, Seamus Blake and Kurt Rosenwinkel - the latter of which he’s appeared with five times at Village Vanguard since the Summer of 2022. His work in more Pop settings with the likes of trumpet icon Chris Botti, guitar icon Steve Miller, the genre-bending songstress Veronica Swift and breakout Hamilton star vocalist Leslie Odom Jr. prove his versatility as a bassist and musician know no bounds.

When he’s not touring the world headlining major Jazz festivals and clubs, Claffy can be found in any of the top venues in New York City’s decorated Jazz scene such as Birdland, the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club, JazzCultural, SMOKE and Smalls, as well as frequent trips back to Philadelphia, where he is committed to enriching and enlivening his hometown scene as well. In his spare time he’s an avid vinyl collector, has a voracious appetite for podcasts and the greats of stand-up comedy, as well as his dedication to his work as a clinician and teacher, hosting a private studio of bass students as well as adjunct work at his alma mater, the New School of Jazz, Jazz House Kids, and the Tribeca Jazz Institute.

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Sarah Sharp Quintet

Sarah Sharp – Quintet

Mitch Watkins – Guitar

Joao Camargo – Piano

John Fremgen – Bass

Masumi Jones – Drums

Enthusiastic accolades have followed Sarah Sharp through her career including multiple awards for her singing and songwriting. The self-produced album “Phoebe’s Dream,” with then-band Jitterbug Vipers, earned Sharp Top 5 placements in Austin Music Awards categories for Best Female Vocalist, Producer, Songwriter, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Band of the Year, and Best Jazz Band. Sarah also was a (two times, once with Jitterbug Vipers, and once as Sarah) top recipient of the Black Fret Award (now Sonic Guild) from the organization supporting “the creation and performance of extraordinary new music.”“It’s so clear that the music you create is so inspired by your environment,” says NPRs Michael Feinstein. Of her song “Trouble,” Feinstein adds, “That is the kind of song that has such a classic quality to it and it’s a song that could have been written a long time ago, and yet it speaks so much to the world now, and I think it will speak to people whenever it’s heard.”

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for Kelly Doyle x Stephen Bidwell!

Kelly Doyle – Guitar

Billy Satterwhite – Bass

Stephen Bidwell – Drums

About Kelly Doyle:

Kelly Doyle is a Houston, TX based guitar virtuoso whose work bridges the gap between experimental ambient explorations and high precision technical forays. Cutting his teeth as a side man for many world-touring musicians, Doyle has meticulously honed his craft on stages across the globe. He is prominently featured on Khruangbin’s Late Night Tales compilation, which has introduced his playing to an even wider audience.

About Stephen Bidwell:

Stephen Bidwell was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in the Virginia suburbs. Since first being handed drumsticks in the late 80s he has studied and lived in West Virginia, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and New York but has called Austin, Texas home since 2005. Somewhere in those travels, he earned a Bachelors’s degree in classical percussion (two of them actually) and a Master’s degree in Jazz studies. Since early 2018 he has been the drummer for the Grammy-nominated Black Pumas, a psychedelic soul group known for incendiary live shows. When not on tour with Black Pumas, Stephen plays in several diverse projects (Hard Proof, The Calm Blue Sea, Azmaris, Mood Illusion), works in any genre you can think of as a sideman and teaches lessons at his home studio.