Album Notes

Bernardo Monk has a unique style as a Tango saxophone player. His varied musical background and high level technique, combined with his knowledge of the traditional Tango streams, are the main elements for his innovative style in this non traditional instrument in Argentine Tango.
Bernardo Monk was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina 1975. Being everyone a musician in his family Bernardo would become interested in tango very early in his life. At the young age of nine, Bernardo discovered some Carlos Gardel´s records at home and after a short time he would start singing Tango.
At the age of fourteen, Bernardo started playing the saxophone. As a teenager Bernardo begun leading his own groups and composing his own music. In 1992 he participated in the national arts competition Expoadolescente getting the first place in the category music-soloist. His professional career as a musician in Argentina includes many artists (Volpini Band, Buenos Aires Big Band, Marcelo "Gillespi" Rodriguez, Mariano Otero, Sebastian Monk) as well as soloist projects in many musical styles (Jazz, Latin Jazz, Tango, Folk, musical comedies). In 2000 Bernardo graduated from the Contemporary Music School in Buenos Aires where he got a scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music.

Bernardo moved to Boston in 2001. He got many competitive awards at Berklee (Woodwinds Department Achievement Award, Charlie Parker Scholarship) and he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2003 with a Major in Jazz Performance. Bernardo had the great chance to work under the instruction of such fine jazz educators as Joe Lovano, Hal Crook, Jerry Bergonzi, Ed Tomassi, Jeorge Garzone and Phil Wilson. His studies at Berklee also include composition and arranging classes.

Bernardo is a high in demand sax player in the New England area not only as a tango musician (Jazz, Latin Jazz, Latin American music, Funk, R&B). His professional career in Boston includes performances and recordings with Oscar Stagnaro and Peru Mestizo, Patricia Vlieg, Sol y Canto, Marta Gomez, Pablo Ablanedo and Ryles Jazz Orchestra.

In 2002 he founded "Mass Tango" with his wife, Argentine tango dancer Fernanda Cajide. Mass Tango has an increasing popularity in the New England area due to its unique blend of dance and traditional Tango. This group performed in many local "milongas" (Boston, Cambridge, Waltham), Latin American Festivals, Argentinean Nights and Zeitgeist Gallery (Cambridge, MA).

In March 2004 Bernardo recorded, arranged and produced his first tango CD "Buenos Aires Station". This album was recorded in Argentina with the participation of some of the finest young tango players of Buenos Aires. Through originals and original arrangements of popular tangos, Bernardo´s music combines different tango styles keeping intact the dancing quality that made Argentine Tango famous around the World.

In 2004 Bernardo and the pianist Octavio Brunetti won the first prize for the duo category at the first International Tango Competition in New York.

Bernardo is also an active educator. As a saxophone private instructor he teaches at Solomon Schechter School (Stoughton, MA) as well as privately. He also organizes Argentine Tango clinics in Colleges and Universities. This clinics are not only focused on the evolution of tango as a music-dance genre, but also as a social-historic phenomenon.

Bernardo Monk is an outstanding young artist in constant development towards the achievement on his own voice in music.