Monks Jazz Club's Upcoming Shows

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for Progger!

Brian Donohoe – Saxophone, Keyboards

Matt Muehling – Guitar

Chris McQueen – Guitar

Matt Weatherly – Bass

Daniel Watson – Drums

Progger is a trans-continental squadron of musicians and composers that started as a jam session in south Austin. Through four critically-acclaimed studio albums and countless live performances, Progger’s instrumental music is written and played by real humans for other real humans to hear and feel real human feelings. No part of the struggles, triumphs, or joy in the group’s creative work is outsourced to generative software.

Led by Oscar-nominated saxophonist, keyboardist, and composer Brian Donohoe, Progger’s individual contributors are accomplished touring and session musicians who have worked with major artists (including Jon Batiste and Bruno Mars) as well as Austin-area heroes (like the Black Pumas, Jackie Venson, and Gary Clark Junior). The band’s long-awaited fifth album, Chronology, was recorded at Church House Studio in east Austin during October 2025, to be released in 2026 on La Reserve Records, and features members of the extended Progger family who flew in from New York, Los Angeles, and Japan.

Prior to Chronology, Progger released their first two records independently (Beatmaker and Populace) and their third and fourth through Ropeadope Records (Scattering and Dystopia). Those records, along with performances supporting the likes of Parliament-Funkadelic, Knower, the Funky Knuckles, and Snarky Puppy, have helped the band cultivate a devoted global fan base.

Please Note: MONKS JAZZ IS NOW A FULL SERVICE BAR. As part of this transition, Monks Jazz is no longer a BYOB venue. We invite you to enjoy our thoughtfully curated beverage menu and roll with us through the changes! As always, this is a live-taping, so we'll be enforcing a whisper-policy! Free parking is available in the area.

First Show: Doors at 7:00pm, Show at 7:30pm.

Second Show: Doors at 9:00pm, Show at 9:30pm.

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for Kevin Hrabak Big Band Swings the Winners!

Kevin Hrabak — Voice // Trombone

Jakob Hartz — Piano

Aidan Berg — Bass

Mati Soto — Drums

Juan Lara — Alto Sax

Matthew Chavez — Alto Sax

Dan Thomas — Tenor Sax

Eli Wyatt — Tenor Sax

Aidan Brown — Baritone Sax

Jacob Martinez — Trombone

Graham Simpler — Trombone

Demetries Thornton — Trombone

Jonah Springs — Trumpet

Santana Rojas — Trumpet

Isaac Pittenger — Trumpet

Following in the lineage of iconic jazz masters from across the decades, Kevin Hrabak is an Austin-based trombonist, vocalist, and bandleader who's recently completed his time studying at UT Austin’s Butler School of Music under the direction of Diego Rivera.

With a sound that has become familiar amongst jazz enthusiasts in clubs across the greater Austin area, Hrabak’s charm and interpretation of the Great American Songbook has cemented his place as a rising star in the Live Music Capital of the World.

In his short time as a professional freelancer, Hrabak has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with national and local luminaries including Benny Bennack III, Mathis Picard, Steven Feifke, Marshall Gilkes, Mike Sailors, Andre Hayward, Danny Jonokuchi, and Gerry Gibbs.

Please Note: MONKS JAZZ IS NOW A FULL SERVICE BAR. As part of this transition, Monks Jazz is no longer a BYOB venue. We invite you to enjoy our thoughtfully curated beverage menu and roll with us through the changes! As always, this is a live-taping, so we'll be enforcing a whisper-policy! Free parking is available in the area.

First Show: Doors at 7:00pm, Show at 7:30pm.

Second Show: Doors at 9:00pm, Show at 9:30pm.

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Margaret Slovak "For The Moment" Vinyl Release!

Margaret Slovak – Guitar

Terry Bowness – Piano

Chris Maresh – Bass

Masumi Jones – Drums

Originally from Denver, Colorado, guitarist and composer Margaret Slovak moved to Austin, Texas in 2012 from New York City. She received her BFA in Music from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington, and studied with guitarists Ralph Towner, John Abercrombie, and Dale Bruning. Margaret has performed throughout the US, Canada and Europe, and has played and/or recorded with Fred Hersch, Michael Formanek, Michael Sarin, Harvie S, Art Lande, Bob Moses, Gary Versace, Masumi Jones, Chris Maresh, and Terry Bowness.

Margaret has released four CDs featuring her original compositions, including For the Moment, which was

recorded in NYC in 1989 with pianist Fred Hersch, bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Michael Sarin; it was released on CD in 2007. In 2024, Margaret released her 5th CD, a winter solstice album with bassist Chris Maresh, A Star’s Light Does Fall. Her music has received worldwide airplay and has been used in several documentary films. In addition to public performances, Margaret plays for patients in cancer treatment centers, hospitals, and hospice. Margaret was also included in Scott Yanow’s 2013 book The Great Jazz Guitarists: The Ultimate Guide.

Quote about For the Moment: “Recorded in 1989 with pianist Fred Hersch, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Michael Sarin, this previously unreleased gem showcases guitarist Margaret Slovak’s delicate, deliberate lines, warm tone and lyrical touch along with her painterly compositional style.” –Bill Milkowski, JAZZTIMES MAGAZINE: January 2009

Please Note: MONKS JAZZ IS NOW A FULL SERVICE BAR. As part of this transition, Monks Jazz is no longer a BYOB venue. We invite you to enjoy our thoughtfully curated beverage menu and roll with us through the changes! As always, this is a live-taping, so we'll be enforcing a whisper-policy! Free parking is available in the area. Doors at 7:15 PM, Show at 7:30 PM.

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for the Mike Sailors Big Band!

Saxophones:

Seth Carper, Matt Chavez, Joel Frahm, Eric Hargett, and Ripley Swingle

Trumpets:

Matt Collins, Isaac Pittinger, Mike Sailors, and Jonah Springs

Trombones:

Judah Guerra, Kevin Hrabak, Jacob Martinez, and Demetrius Thornton

Rhythm Section:

Aidan Berg, Jakob Hartz, and Mati Soto

Mike Sailors has performed around the world in venues such as the Blue Note (New York, Tokyo, and Sapporo locations), Ronnie Scott’s, Porgy and Bess, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, The Jazz Standard, Smalls Jazz Club, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center; and has appeared at the Montreal, Detroit, EFG London, and Tokyo Blue Note Jazz Festivals. He has also been an active musician in Broadway orchestras, most notably as the Music Director of Sleep No More. In addition to leading the Mike Sailors Nonet, once dubbed "an all-star outfit" by the New York Times, he has performed as a sideman with the Birdland Big Band, the Hot Sardines, the Gerald Wilson Orchestra, and The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.

An active composer and arranger, Mike has written for such luminaries as Dewey Redman, Dick Oatts, Sean Jones, Jimmy Cobb, and Peter Bernstein. He has composed and recorded music for numerous commercial campaigns, as well as for TV and Film – most recently for the Netflix original series, Cannon Busters. Sailors is also a performing artist/educator with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Let Freedom Swing educational program, is a copyist and editor for the Essentially Ellington jazz program, and currently serves as the Professor of Jazz Trumpet at University of Texas at Austin.

This programming is supported in part by The Live Music Society.

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Please Note: MONKS JAZZ IS NOW A FULL SERVICE BAR. As part of this transition, Monks Jazz is no longer a BYOB venue. We invite you to enjoy our thoughtfully curated beverage menu and roll with us through the changes! As always, this is a live-taping, so we'll be enforcing a whisper-policy! Free parking is available in the area.

First Show: Doors at 7:00pm, Show at 7:30pm.

Second Show: Doors at 9:00pm, Show at 9:30pm.