Thelonious Monk Tribute: Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci, Adam Cruz Trio | SFJAZZ 2025-26 Season
Danilo Pérez
Thelonious Monk's Birthday Celebration

Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci, Adam Cruz Trio

OCT 10-12 | 2025-26 Season

Oct 10, 2025
Miner Auditorium

PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production


Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.

Calendar

Original show description below.

This concert is made possible courtesy of the Rex Cardinale Thelonious Monk Fund.

An all-star trio of jazz heavyweights and longtime collaborators assemble on the Miner stage in celebration of Thelonious Monk’s 108th birthday with a night of reimagined classics. 

A visionary pianist, composer, and bandleader who also provided the harmonic glue that bound Wayne Shorter’s legendary 21st century quartet, Panama-born Danilo Pérez is no stranger to the world of Monk. His breakthrough 1996 Impulse!/GRP trio release PanaMonk viewed Monk’s timeless compositions through a Caribbean lens, inspiring DownBeat magazine to call the recording “one of the most important jazz piano albums in history.”  

Pérez’s rhythm section partner in the Wayne Shorter quartet, John Patitucci is on a very short list of the greatest bassists in jazz. A respected bandleader with nearly 20 albums to his credit, the Brooklyn-born Patitucci is widely known for his longtime association with the late Chick Corea as well as his work with the likes of Gary Burton, Herbie Hancock, and Norah Jones.  

Adam Cruz is among the most accomplished and versatile drummers working today, whose relationship with Pérez goes back over two decades and four acclaimed albums. Cruz’s impressive resume includes extensive work with trumpeter Tom Harrell, the Mingus Big Band, Chick Corea, and SFJAZZ Collective members Edward Simon and David Sánchez. 

Together, this trio of masters brings their telepathic improvisational connection to Monk’s greatest works as a fitting tribute to one of the music’s most inspirational figures. 

More

An all-star trio of jazz heavyweights and longtime collaborators, Pérez, Patitucci, and Cruz assemble on the Miner stage in celebration of Thelonious Monk’s 108th birthday with a night of reimagined classics.

Danilo Perez is a man with some serious jazz cred. The Panamanian pianist got his start playing with Dizzy Gillespie, and continued with Wayne Shorter. As a composer and bandleader himself, he’s practically peerless.

npr

Danilo Perez is a man with some serious jazz cred. The Panamanian pianist got his start playing with Dizzy Gillespie, and continued with Wayne Shorter. As a composer and bandleader himself, he’s practically peerless.

npr

Personnel

Danilo Pérez piano 
John Patitucci bass 
Adam Cruz drums 

A prolific, highly lauded bassist, John Patitucci has distinguished himself as a technically adept and boundary-pushing player

all music guide

Personnel

Danilo Pérez piano 
John Patitucci bass 
Adam Cruz drums 

A prolific, highly lauded bassist, John Patitucci has distinguished himself as a technically adept and boundary-pushing player

all music guide

Watch & Listen

Danilo Pérez

Panamonk

Danilo Pérez

Bright Mississippi

Danilo Pérez

Panamonk

Danilo Pérez

Bright Mississippi

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience. To find out more, view Your Privacy Choices and Terms of Use for more details.