Monika Herzig’s career as a jazz pianist/composer spans three decades and dozens of releases, most recently with her all-star group Sheroes featuring the world’s leading female instrumentalists including Jamie Baum, Reut Regev, Leni Stern, Rosa Avila, Jennifer Vincent with guests Ingrid Jensen, Ada Rovatti, Akua Dixon, Lakecia Benjamin, and more. Her composition Just Another Day in the Office is featured in the recent publication New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers (Berklee Press, 2022) compiled under the direction of Terri Lyne Carrington. 

SHEROES is a brilliant project involving some of my favorite musicians, spearheaded by Monika Herzig. It is soulful and thoughtful. I especially love their take on “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”- it captures the spirit of the group because there is no stopping great artists from making great music, as demonstrated on this stellar recording.

– TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON

 She is a DownBeat and JazzTimes contributor and served as the editor of Jazz Education in Research and Practice (JAZZ) as well as board member and head of the research committee for the Jazz Education Network (JEN). In 2019, Sheroes played the Jazz Tales Festival in Cairo & Alexandria, Egypt and toured many of Europe’s premiere jazz clubs, such as, Porgy & Bess (Vienna), Unterfahrt (Munich), Theaterhaus Stuttgart Jazztage, the Women in Jazz Festival (Halle) and also can be seen in Kay D. Ray’s documentary In Her Hands: Key Changes in Jazz, alongside their sister contemporary jazz stars, Anat Cohen, Ingrid Jensen, Sherrie Maricle, Grace Kelly among others. Groups under Herzig’s leadership have toured Germany, Italy, Japan and opened for acts such as Tower of Power, Sting and the Dixie Dregs. Herzig is the author of two critically acclaimed books; one with a brilliant forward by Quincy Jones: David Baker: A Legacy in Music (IU Press, 2011) and Chick Corea: A Listener’s Companion (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), which the Darmstadt Jazz Institute attests, “Herzig manages a perfect balance of musical analysis and context for the chosen recordings as well as Chick Corea’s career…easy to read, well-organized and motivates–which is still the highest achievement for music literature–for repeated listening.” Her co-edited volume Jazz and Gender was released in 2022 on Routledge. Since 2020, she is the host of the radio series and podcast Talking Jazz. Currently she serves as Professor of Artistic Research and Dean of Music Education at the Jam Music Lab University in Vienna, Austria. 

“…Herzig herself is a visionary artist and educator, a true jazz warrior with an already fascinating career.”–BOB BLUMENTHAL