Amanda Monaco has performed at venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, Jazz Standard, and the Blue Note, and with artists such as Milt Hinton and the Mingus Orchestra. She has released eight albums as a leader. Her current jazz projects include her all-female sextet Lioness, rambunctious organ quartet Glitter, and eclectic quartet Deathblow. Her Pirkei Avot Project performs her original music with lyrics from selected verses (from a collection of rabbinical teachings with the same name) compiled in the third century C.E.
Monaco’s guitar playing is “well within the modernist canon, but quite distinctive: her phrasing is often made up of tartly dissonant chords and insistent yet off-kilter repetitions that remind one of Grant Green by way of Andrew Hill... her playing is utterly unique, a breath of fresh air in the cookie-cutter climes of both mainstream and free jazz.” (Clifford Allen, The New York City Jazz Record)
An educator since 1990, Monaco is currently an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music where she teaches private instruction, labs, and ensembles. She teaches private lessons for Berklee Online and recently recorded a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) for the college which is available worldwide at www.coursera.com. Monaco's book, Jazz Guitar for the Absolute Beginner was published by Alfred in 2004.
Monaco is the Artistic Director of Convergence Arts, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose mission is to share the art and fun of improvisation with people of all ages. Convergence has presented festivals in New York City such at the Six String Summit (showcasing guitarists Nels Cline and Julian Lage, among others) and the Queens Jazz OverGround’s Spring Jazz Fest at Flushing Town Hall.
Monaco received her M.A. from The City College of New York in 2008. In her undergraduate years, Amanda studied with Ted Dunbar, Kenny Barron, Rufus Reid and Harold Mabern. She received her B.M. from William Paterson University.
Amanda Monaco plays a Brian Moore Guitar, ZT Amps, and D’Addario Strings.