TICKETS are $15 General/$10 Student. One-Set  concert - End time is around 9:00.

The Chris Mondak Band

Award-winning jazz bassist and composer Chris Mondak and his band make their first-ever appearance in South Bend, performing at Merrimans’ Playhouse on Thursday, October 10. Although now based in Nashville, Chris is a native of Illinois, and he is excited about bringing his band to the Midwest.

Chris Mondak - bass

Reed Stewart - drums 

Joe Folan - guitar

Gabe Feldman - keys

All About Jazz Review

https://chrismondak.com/

A 2020 graduate of the New England Conservatory, Chris studied there with jazz legends Cecil McBee and Dave Holland. Chris also has performed with musicians such as Shelly Berg, Dave Douglas, Joel Frahm, Wycliffe Gordon, Jeff Hamilton, and Marvin Stamm. Chris has toured extensively, including two multi-week tours in China, and week-long runs in Mexico and Panama.

Chris is a prolific composer. Upon release of his 2019 CD Eternal Youth, Blurt Magazinecommented “with Chris Mondak, the future of jazz is bright indeed.” Chris followed in 2022 with Glass Spheres (Summit Records), which reached #17 on the national NACC jazz chart, and that led All About Jazz to label Chris as “one of the talented young lions of the jazz world today.” Chris’s newest CD, Blank with Colour (Summit Records) was released in October 2023. Blank with Colour has amassed extensive radio play, spending nine weeks in the top 100 of the national Jazz Week chart. Chris has received two international jazz composition awards—one in Italy in 2023 for “Begetting,” a tune on Blank with Colour, and one in China in 2019 for “Always Smiling,” which Chris recorded and performed during his stint with the Nextgen Jazz Quartet.

Joe Folan (guitar) is a musician and composer from the Greater Boston area. Settling in Nashville three years ago, Joe has developed an ear for American music of all forms and a lyrical approach to his phrasing as well as his comping.

Gabe Feldman (keys) moved to Nashville after studying jazz at the New England Conservatory. His playing can be heard on Chris Mondak’s 2022 and 2023 CDs Glass Spheresand Blank with Colour. Gabe composed several originals pieces for the Nextgen Jazz Quartet’s 2019 CD Starlight and performed extensively with them at venues including Birdland.

Reed Stewart (drums) has toured extensively throughout Europe, Russia, Mexico, Malaysia, Canada, and the United States. He has performed with R. Stevie Moore, Zee Avi, Rachel Trachtenburg, Rye Davis, Kara Grainger, and Arturo O’Farrill, among many others. He is also an accomplished solo artist, having booked several solo tours in Europe and the United States, including those promoting his first album, Mallet (released in 2019).

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from the Wells Fargo Philanthropic Services Private Trust Foundations, which include grants from the Stanley A. and Flora P. Clark Memorial Community Trust Foundation (2020-2021; 2022-2023 seasons), the John, Anna, and Martha Jane Fields Memorial Trust Foundation (2021-2022; 2022-2023 seasons), and the Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust (2021-2022; 2022-2023 season). Special concert event support provided by the Arts Midwest Grow, Invest, Gather (GIG) Fund grant (2022-2023 season). Activities are made possible in part by the Arts Organization Support (AOS), Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency (2023-2024 season).

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from The Esther and George Jaruga Charitable Foundation (2020-2023 seasons). The Student and Home Grown Series concerts made possible, in part, with support from the ArtsEverywhere Grant from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, and the Arts Project Support Grant and the Arts Recovery Grant through the Indiana Arts Commission.