Monk for President

Originally begun as a vehicle for then Hunter College graduate student Glafkos Kontemeniotis' thesis compositions, the music group Monk for President continues to explore the limits of musical conversation and interaction. At the time, Kontemeniotis had no regular group, so for his 1998 masters degree recital the pianist recruited bassist Ed Kollar and drummer Vince "Kazi" McCoy, also Hunter students, to fill out the rhythm section. Though some of the pieces called for a larger ensemble, this trio would be the focus of the performance. During rehearsals the three felt a synergism the likes of which none had previously experienced. The Giant Invisible Circuit had been discovered.

Imagine a connection not unlike an electric circuit that appears at the count off and fades with the applause, a circuit of musical thought. From tune to tune this is where the trio lives. And this is not a result of the playing but the impulse that prompts it. Once the connection was recognized it became clear that the trio must continue beyond Glafkos' masters recital. Before long the trio was giving performances the likes of La Fete de la Musique and the tribute to Lionel Hampton at the Schomburg Center as well as building a regular work schedule in New York City restaurants and bars. Over the years, Monk for President has added to its resume venues as varied as Bryant Park, Wave Hill, the New York Historical Society, Christie's Auction House, and the State Legislature in Albany.

Monk for President, then known as Ear Soul Hand, eventually went into the studio to record a CD with the help of vocalist Priscilla Owens, a professor in the Hunter Music Department. The CD, Within Reach, sparked enough interest to lead to a North American distribution deal with True Life Jazz. Soon after its release, Miami's WLRN radio station featured Within Reach during a program which aired the entire cd over the course of a Saturday evening. It should also be mentioned that other instrumentalists sometimes appear with the band (or cover for absentees thereof). These include guitarist Conor Lyons, drummers Scott Neumann, Tony Lewis, Steve Holloway, Jerome Morris, vibraphonist Christos Rafalides, bassist Pete Chivilly, saxophonists Justin Hoffman, Greg Moore, Kenny Venezia, and pianists William Buthod and Andric Severance (to name a few).

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