$15 admission / $10 students / 10PM doors / 10:20PM start / seated & standing
Jazz & stride pianist Monique Zhang invites you to a night of vintage jazz and original swing compositions inspired by the Jazz & Swing Era. Featuring Monique & her jazz duo - The Moniko Stride Duo (By Monique & Niko) and other guest musicians.
About Monique Zhang
A classically trained, multi-style pianist and vintage jazz composer specializing in stride piano and jazz & swing era performance.
Monique was introduced early to classic jazz through vintage animation, Golden Age Hollywood films, and dances as a kid. She discovered jazz more deeply and soon found her passion in stride piano during teen years. Entirely learnt by ears in stride style, she began composing original vintage-inspired music during her undergraduate studies at Berklee College of Music, developing a sound that blends authenticity, playfulness with some jazz ideas and making the sound personal as “the Monique way”.
Monique has a vintage spirit as a person born in the 2000s as a "modernist" person. Being idiosyncratic from any other people and musicians makes her and the music standing out.
Besides piano. Monique is a trumpeter, vintage stylist, artist, and dancer. Creative identities that continue to influence her music and stage presence.
Monique is also a current swing-era pianist with Beantown Swing Orchestra and leads The Moniko Stride Duo - A brand new, unusual jazz duo with a rare instrumentation known for its story-driven performance with passion and creativity.
About Niko Zontini
Affectionately known as "Monique's favorite stride partner". One of the very few tuba players at Berklee College of Music, a multi-genre low brass musician, composer. Niko has been diving into vintage jazz from Monique and stride-inspired phrasing, developing a personal "stride tuba" style. Niko is also an electric bassist who can also play some piano.
Niko becomes a meaningful inspiration for Monique and her latest jazz works which becomes the creative bond and direction for The Moniko Stride Duo as well.
About The Moniko Stride Duo
Founded on 11/2025. We specialize in: Jazz & swing era classics, trad/dixieland, blues, Monique's vintage jazz compositions & many more!
Why “Moniko”?
We've got almost the same full name - Monique/Zhang and Niko/Zontini and we share a deep love for vintage jazz, our coincidences and personalities, time-travel aesthetics, early jazz style & entertainment.
Put those together and you get Moniko!
How The Moniko met:
Monique & Niko met in spring 2025 performing “The Famous Charleston Melody” together as a guest band. Niko quickly recognized Monique as a stride pianist, and Monique remembered Niko's powerful and personality-filled tuba playing.
A few months later, we reunited musically. Monique had Niko join her original vintage-jazz showcase at the Unplayed/Unheard Jazz & Contemporary Music Concert at Longy School of Music as our 1st duo show-up.
The rare style of music and unusual instrumentation - stride piano & tuba duo by Monique & Niko became an immediate public favorite. We became an official duo since then.
“Stride piano with tuba by young-generation musicians. Absolutely unique and beautifully synchronized!”
Our guest musicians/friends:
Zach Hunhoff - Guitar
Alec Candib - Trombone
Manuel Puerta & Junhao Zhang - Drums