Kyle Brooks, who's made his mark in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Northwest Ohio, brings together a quartet of talented musicians for this project. Joining him are Elio Wijaya on piano and Fender Rhodes, Stephen Parisi Jr. on bass, and Kabir Dalawari on drums. Brooks handles alto and soprano saxophones, adding electronic effects to expand the sonic palette.

Monarch draws inspiration from contemporary jazz innovators like Ben Wendel, Terrace Martin, and Marquis Hill. The album delivers a blend of thoughtful composition and exciting performance, pushing jazz in new directions while pulling along open-minded listeners.

Lawrence Peryer: What instrument(s) can you play?

Kyle Brooks: Saxophone, clarinet, flute, oboe, piano, drums.

LP: What is your first memory of music?

KB: Receiving a First Act children's guitar and learning AC/DC songs on it!

LP: You want someone to understand you. What song or album do you give them?

KB: Hejira by Joni Mitchell. It's such a journeying, relatable album that I go back to again and again.

LP: What is a skill you wish you possessed?

KB: The ability to run a marathon. I'm actively working on it!

LP: What song, album, or artist never gets old for you?

KB: Right now, Adrianne Lenker. Her songwriting and raw, tender singing trigger an emotional response from me that I value highly.

LP: What is a creative work or artist, outside of music, that you love or admire?

KB: I love photography, and Arnold Daniel is one of my favorite street photographers!

The Humans of Daniel Arnold’s New York

The photographer chronicles the interstitial weirdness of the city and the people in it, who are often too caught up in the busy stream of existence to pause and reflect on their lives.

The New YorkerCondé Nast

LP: What music do you and your significant other disagree about?

KB: If I had one, we'd agree about all music! (This is sarcasm).

LP: What was your first concert?

KB: When I was a kid, my mom took me to see Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd in Tinley Park, IL.

LP: What instrument do you wish you could play?

KB: English Horn, just so I could play the solo from "New World Symphony."

LP: What person, dead or alive, would you like to share a meal with (and which meal of the day)?

KB: I would love to have breakfast with Cannonball Adderley. My favorite meal of the day and Cannonball earned his nickname from his trenchermanship.

LP: Chess or checkers?

KB: Chess.

LP: When you were 15, your favorite artist, song, or album was:

KB: John Coltrane, Coltrane's" Sound

LP: Who is the biggest influence on your musical life?

KB: Coltrane. Out of all the musicians I listen to, I've probably studied his compositions and saxophone playing the most. I have a notebook full of handwritten transcriptions of his solos

LP: There's a band playing in Heaven tonight. Who is in it?

KB: Coltrane's famous quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones.

LP: Who is your musical hero?

KB: Ben Wendel, a master technician of the saxophone who also toured with Snoop Dogg. Also, he played the "flame sax" in the Old Spice commercials!

LP: What was your first paycheck related to music?

KB: Playing at a nursing home with my old saxophone quartet. I'll never forget the nice note they wrote us, too.

LP: What is your theme song?

KB: "Coyote" by Joni Mitchell. Folk music has recently become such a large portion of my listening palette and is represented in my compositions.

LP: What are some of the places you have saved on your phone's weather app?

KB: Chicago; Bloomington, IN; Toledo, OH; Amsterdam, NL

LP: You are programming a music festival. What artists, dead or alive, headline Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night?

KB: Friday- Coltrane; Saturday- Terrace Martin's "Dinner Party"; Sunday- Joni Mitchell.

LP: What artist is the most underrated or misunderstood?

KB: Bon Iver. I wasn't interested in them until I recently sat down with their self-titled album. Very Earthy and wholesome.

LP: What was the last concert you saw?

KB: Jesse Lear live at Fulton Street Collective in Chicago