Tony Monaco's New York Debut

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Hammond B3 Organist Tony Monaco of Columbus, Ohio makes his New York debut with a one-night-only performance at Smoke Jazz Club on Wednesday 18th July. In a busy schedule that has seen him traveling around the globe as far down as Australia, he has at last been able to include a scheduled pit stop in New York. Joining him will be exciting new guitarist Jason Campbell, who plays many of the last organ rooms in Harlem and specializes in the organ trio genre, and drummer Jimmy “Dunebug” Jackson, who personally held the drum chair with the great Jimmy Smith (Tony's mentor) for the last 20 years before his passing.

Celebrated Hammond B-3 jazz organ wizard Tony Monaco began his keyboard life at age eight, on the accordion. But when he was twelve, his destiny as a Jazz organist was sealed when he first heard Jimmy Smith.

An enthusiastic student, Tony began working in jazz clubs as a teenager in his native Columbus, Ohio, guided by local organ gurus Hank Marr and Don Patterson. For further inspiration, Tony studiously absorbed the mastery of Jimmy McGriff, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Charles Earland, Jack McDuff, and Dr. Lonnie Smith. All would play a role in the development of his musical palette.

On Tony's sixteenth birthday, his prayers were answered--he received an encouraging phone call from the late Jimmy Smith, who soon became his guru. This was the first of a regular series of calls where Smith taught Tony the secrets of the Hammond B-3. Four years later, when he was twenty, Jimmy Smith invited Tony to come play with him at his club in California--a peak lifetime experience for Tony Monaco.

In April 2000, Tony met fellow Organist Joey DeFrancesco when Joey played a gig in Columbus, Ohio. The two became instant friends and recognizing Tony's talent, Joey offered to produce a CD for him. A few weeks later, Tony was in Joey's Arizona studio recording the critically acclaimed CD, Burnin Grooves, featuring drummer Byron Landham and guitarist Paul Bollenback. Producer DeFrancesco, who doubles on trumpet and piano, played on a few tracks as well.

In 2004 Tony, a musician who is very guided by the manifesto of self-empowerment, completed building a new home that sports a specially deisgned studio, where he recorded his 5th Summit release, Fiery Blues. In 2005, thanks to the success of Fiery Blues, Tony traveled extensively, including the US, Australia, New Caledonia, and Canada. Returning home in September after a 10 day tour of Australia, Tony recorded his newest CD East to West on his newly formed “Chicken Coup” Records with Adam Nussbaum on drums and Bruce Forman on Guitar.

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