About Monika...
Monika Ryan is a New York-bred jazz vocalist, songwriter, and producer who has spent over three decades performing and more than twenty-five years independently writing, recording, and releasing original jazz on her own Resensitize Records imprint. A graduate of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, she studied privately with vocalist Jackie Paris and took classes with Sheila Jordan, who called her "a wonderful singer whose music will help keep the flame of jazz alive." Her core belief, that vocal jazz's lyrics deserve the same freedom to grow that its melody and harmony always have, has shaped her original compositions from the start: a hopeful, present-day take on the tradition rather than a repeat of it.
WHAT CRITICS SAY ...
Both impressive and memorable. Her voice, with its slight buzz, has the unique sound one hopes for in a jazz singer...the entire project radiates with the presence of a talent with a major future.
Don Heckman
LA Times
WHAT CRITICS SAY ...
Ryan caresses the lyrics of each song with a measure of emotion and taste making for a vocal jazz album that's a pleasure to hear...Though there are moments of swing on this session, make no doubt about the texture of the music, this is a genuine album of light jazz that appeals to the lighter side of one's musical DNA. ...Classical love songs voiced by a superior singer and backed by a top-notch cast of players, makes this vocal jazz album, a must for those who appreciate the genre.
Edward Blanco
All About Jazz
WHAT CRITICS SAY ...
A wonderful singer whose music will help keep the flame of jazz alive.
Sheila Jordan
Singer
WHAT CRITICS SAY ...
...'Windmills' is a tribute to the lyrics of Alan and Marilyn Bergman, 'Cinnamon and Clove,'... showcases not only the beauty, range, and power of Monika Ryan’s voice but also the extent of her emotional connection to the wonderful lyrics of the songs on this album.
Matt Micucci
JAZZIZ
WHAT CRITICS SAY ...
Monika's performance is adventurous, relevant, and fresh, every night. A fine live music experience.
Benoit Glazer
McGill University, Cirque du Soleil, Founder, Artistic and Technical Director at Timucua Arts Foundation
Motherhood shaped the arc of her career, not it's direction. She stepped back from formal recording during her children's early years, kept writing and performing when she could, and returned to the studio in 2014. The albums that followed, some standards, some experimental, reflect a gradual search for her way back to the original, philosophical jazz she'd always been working toward. That search reached full stride between 2023 and 2026 with four studio albums in four years, PLAYFULLY, ALIVE, SWEETNESS, and DELIGHTFULLY, each earning Global Music Award recognition and international press coverage.
Her forthcoming single "Nothing Like A Bass," featuring NEA Jazz Master Ron Carter, releases September 25, 2026. Her work has been reviewed in DownBeat, the LA Times, Jazz Journal, JAZZIZ, and All About Jazz, and she has performed at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall's Neighborhood Concert Series, 54 Below, and venues across Japan, Ireland, Germany, and Hong Kong. She is a Voting Member of the Recording Academy.