Monk Rowe has carved an interesting niche for himself in the Central New York area. He performs frequently as a solo pianist and as a saxophonist with a variety of ensembles. He is often found performing with The Roots of Rock & Roll or leading his own trio.
Monk is a member of Hamilton College's adjunct faculty for saxophone instruction. Since 1995 he has been Director of the Hamilton College Jazz Archive. The mission of the Archive has been to gather video interviews with renown jazz personalities, saving their stories and experiences for researchers, authors and interested jazz lovers. To date, almost 300 have been conducted at many locations across the country. In addition to the interviews, commercial jazz videos, recordings and printed material about jazz are archived.
Monk composed and recorded a series of tunes written for and dedicated to nine of the artists interviewed. The CD, entitled Jazz Life contains compositions recorded by Monk along with six respected jazz musicians: Wendell Brunious (trumpet and flugelhorn), Keter Betts (bass), Dennis Mackrel (drums), Rick Montalbano (piano), Jerome Richardson (alto sax), and Bill Watrous (trombone).
Monk is involved in aesthetic education through his participation in the Stanley Center for the Arts' AIE Institute. As a Teaching Artist, he works with students and teachers in Utica and the surrounding school districts, preparing them to take part in performances by a wide variety of musical ensembles. Formerly he was the Artistic Director of the Institute. He is frequently a guest teaching artist at similar institutes around the country, including Binghamton, NY; Albany, NY and Nashville, TN.
Monk is a prolific writer and arranger, and has produced various projects in the Central New York area. Works include music for a children's play, The Unicorn's Magic, theatrical rock work, arrangements for the Utica Symphony, the Syracuse University Jazz Ensemble, The Lavendar Trio, Oswego College Solid State Jazz Ensemble, and a 1989 CD release entitled Out Standing in his Field consisting of original contemporary jazz compositions.