Jazz Articles about Tony Monaco

Tony Monaco: Vital Organs

by Jim Santella
January 10, 2009

Tony Monaco Live at the Orbit Room Chicken Coup Records 2008 Don Hales Unified String Theory Chicken Coup Records 2008

Tony Monaco comes from the Jimmy Smith school of organists who use groove to interact successfully with audiences. At a young age, Monaco was faced with an obstacle: neuralgic amyotrophy, a disease closely ...

Tony Monaco and Don Hales: Tonymoon for Two

by C. Michael Bailey
November 19, 2008

Organist Tony Monaco is Johannes Brahms to Jimmy Smith's Ludwig van Beethoven. He is the keeper of the flame, or, more appropriately, the bar keep of the chicken shack, and the ambassador of the chitlin' circuit. Over the past decade, Monaco has moved to the front of the class in organ jazz, releasing a string of critically acclaimed recordings. Monaco adds two more, one as leader and one as side man to guitarist Don Hales.

Tony Monaco & Friends: Back At The Chicken Shack

by C. Michael Bailey
August 28, 2006

Accepting the torch of seminal B3 organist Jimmy Smith is one thing--holding it is another. But in the same way that Johannes Brahms carried on the legacy of Beethoven, so Tony Monaco serves Jimmy Smith. A longtime Summit Records label item, Monaco here steps out with his own imprint, Chicken Coup Records, releasing three discs and playing on two of them.

Monaco has already made a significant mark with albums including Let's Bop, Burnin' Grooves, Master Chops T, Intimately Live ...

Tony Monaco: East to West

by Jim Santella
February 7, 2006

Launching a new label that remains a division of Summit Records, Tony Monaco honors organist Jimmy Smith and a generation of groove-oriented artists who have followed. His “I'll Remember Jimmy starts off the album: it's an up-tempo, blues-oriented smoker that lets his organ/guitar trio light up the path for all to see and experience. He leads the way with an in-depth rhythmic groove and colorful harmonic colors that capture the original essence.

The rest of the session continues ...

Tony Monaco: Jazz Organ Crusader

by William Grim
March 31, 2005

If you happen to be in Columbus, Ohio on most Wednesdays, you'll be doing yourself a favor if you head up on High Street just north of the student slums of Ohio State University to an unpretentious joint known as the Ravari Room. It's your typical campus dive bar, complete with cheap drinks, an incongruously placed aquarium, and TV monitors that seem permanently tuned to ESPN 2. It's not the sort of place where you'd expect to be able to ...

Tony Monaco: Fiery Blues

by Jim Santella
November 1, 2004

Tony Monaco's explosive Fiery Blues session may be his best ever. Settling into a comfortable groove, he unleashes the soulful power of the blues, and its magnetic attraction holds you in its spell.Guitarist Derek DiCenzo and drummer Louis Tsamous have developed a delicious rapport with the organist. Together, they interpret standards and originals with vibrant energy. As the house starts rockin' and the fires heat up, each artist provides more fuel. Monaco drives with genuine soul.Horace ...

Tony Monaco Trio: Fiery Blues

by C. Michael Bailey
October 26, 2004

Tony Monaco has grown into a durable and intelligent purveyor of organ jazz. With the release of Fiery Blues, Mr. Monaco may now be considered in the same company and Jimmy Smith, John Patton, Jack McDuff, Shirley Scott, and Larry Young. While closer to Smith than Young in overall philosophy, Monaco does not shy away from the more challenging music (having covered Wayne Shorter, as well as Miles Davis). Fiery Blues is exactly that: a survey of the blues, everything ...