The Diego Rivera Octet | Centennials: The Music of Miles, Coltrane, Ray Brown, Melba Liston, Jimmy Heath, and More!

Join us for a live taping and listening-room concert for The Diego Rivera Octet | Centennials: The Music of Miles, Coltrane, Ray Brown, Melba Liston, Jimmy Heath, and More!

Mike Sailors – Trumpet

Matthew Chavez – Alto Saxophone

Diego Rivera – Tenor Saxophone

Aidan Brown – Bari Saxophone

Judah Guerra – Trombone

Ross Margitza – Piano

Miguel Rodriguez – Bass

Christian Torres – Drums

Diego Rivera is a world-class musician, composer, arranger, and educator who has entertained audiences for over twenty years. Known for his muscular tone and unique blend of straight-ahead jazz and music inspired by his Latino background and heritage, he is currently the Director of Jazz Studies at the Butler School of Music, University of Texas at Austin. Rivera is a Vandoren Performing Artist.

Rivera was born in Ann Arbor, MI, and raised ‘just up the road’ in East Lansing, MI. Born into a Mexican-American family, his Chicano heritage has shaped his musical voice and creative endeavors. His parents named him after the famed muralist Diego Rivera. At a young age, a trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts inspired him to make his mark with the Saxophone rather than the brush.

Rivera has released eight critically acclaimed albums as a leader and has several other credits to his name as a recording artist, composer, and arranger. Several of his recordings have placed in the top 10 on the JazzWeek Radio charts, which tracks national radio plays for all current jazz recordings. In 2024 Rivera was commissioned by Chamber Music to compose and premiere a new work through their New Jazz Works program. Rivera subsequently composed and released Ofrenda on Positione Records. Ofrenda is an original suite illustrating the Mexican tradition of building an altar or ‘ofrenda’ to honor lost loved ones.

Rivera has also toured both nationally and internationally with GRAMMY-Award-winning vocalist Kurt Elling, and is a member of the Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band and the SEIKO Jazz Faculty. He has also performed with The Jazz @ Lincoln Center Orchestra w/ Wynton Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Christian McBride, Wycliffe Gordon, PRISM Saxophone Quartet, the Gerald Wilson Big Band, and the Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.

Rivera is a Posi-Tone recording artist and a Vandoren Performing Artist.

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 7:00 PM, Show at 7:30 PM.

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