Photo provided Jazz pianist and composer Monika Herzig will perform at Helen Haddad Hall in Columbus on April 11, part of the Jazz at Helen’s series.
Jazz pianist and composer Monika Herzig will be returning for an encore performance at Jazz at Helen’s. An world-renowned jazz performer, she and her fellow performers will be bringing music from their Sheroes project to Helen Haddad Hall once again on April 11.
Herzig’s performance begins at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6:45 p.m. Single tickets cost $45 per show while series tickets are $120. Tickets are available at thecip.org.
Herzig came from Germany to America on a one-way ticket in 1988 as part as an exchange program with the University of Alabama, according to her website. She has since completed her Doctorate in Music Education and Jazz Studies at Indiana University and taught there up until two years ago, when she then started as a Professor of Artistic Research and Dean of Music Education at the Jam Music Lab University in Vienna.
She had previously performed at Jazz at Helen’s in January of 2024 during her “Both Sides of Joni” project, where she performed re-imagined Joni Mitchell songs with New York City vocalist Alexis Cole. Herzig’s upcoming performance will mostly focus on the Sheroes project, a group she started around 10 years ago to showcase some of the world’s best female instrumentalists.
According to the Sheroes website, Herzig does most of the writing and arranging, in additions to contributions from band members and covers including “Run the World” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” She said they recently released their fourth album, “All In Good Time,” in 2024, which they have been showcasing on tour these past few months.
“We were in the U.S., we did the Detroit Jazz Festival and the D.C. Jazz Festival, and then we took the group to Europe and then we ended up at the Jazzmandu Festival in Nepal and New Delhi,” Herzig said. “So this is the extension, so we’re still showcasing that new album…”
Herzig will be joined on stage April 11 by a few of Sheroes’ many members, including bassist and Indiana University associate professor of jazz studies Natalie Boeyink and Indianapolis-based drummer Giauna Neville. She will also be joined by flutist Jamie Baum, who Herzig said she loves performing with any opportunity they get as Baum lives in New York and Herzig lives overseas. Baum is also accompanying Herzig on this tour, where they will also perform in New Orleans before coming back to Indiana.
“I mean, this is actually a great opportunity to go way beyond Indiana, I’m bringing Jamie (Baum) for that,” Herzig said.
According to Herzig, the jazz world has many stereotypes and she said when many think of jazz, they think of men performing. She said she looks forward to audiences seeing some really powerful musicians who have worked hard and deserve their space, but she said she also looks forward to performing her music in a space that she loves.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing that (Jazz at Helen’s producer) Warren (Ward) and everybody’s doing,” Herzig said. “It’s a really great showcase of all of our many great musicians in the area and far beyond.”
