Underground East Austin jazz club Monks celebrates fifth anniversary, looks toward future

Max Robison, Life and Arts Reporter
September 28, 2021

Past a rusted iron gate, between for rent storage spaces and warehouses, a sign reads “MONKS.” Red brick encloses the inside and no windows violate the space’s tranquility. The tables illuminate themselves by candlelight — except for lights on the stage, where a combo warms up, cracking wise all the while.

Collin Shook, the proprietor, just celebrated Monks Jazz Club’s fifth anniversary. Between beginning as a pop-up in a tire shop, weathering a global pandemic and acquiring a location on Pedernales Street in East Austin, Monks quickly became a staple within Austin’s musical landscape and looks to the future.

“It’s just been growing for five years,” Shook said. “It’s a slow burn, and built into a place where now I have this really cool art studio, and I can curate an ongoing series of my favorite music.”

Shook, originally from Dallas, played piano from a young age and jazz since his teens. He cut his teeth as a working session and gig player in Tucson, Arizona.

“I was playing gigs, about four or five nights a week with my trio, wrote and recorded two albums,” Shook said.

In 2015, Shook moved to Austin and became involved in the local jazz scene, showing up to jam at the Elephant Room.

“He just popped in fresh from town,” Dr. Adrian Ruiz, a trumpeter who’s played in the Austin area for a decade, said. “And you know, we just kind of hit it off, and it was a…. read full article here