The Monas are a "Non-band" band assembled by the multi-talented Jared Engel. Jared has spent the last several years playing myriad styles of music with the likes of music legends David Grisman, Mike Marshall and up-and-coming young artists including Stephane Wrembel, Loose Marbles, Jaymay and Kristin Diable among many others. For this adventurous Cross-Pollination, Jared has rounded up a combo comprised of some of the top young Jazz musicians in NYC. They will surely give us an amazing spectacle when paired with Taxi Taxi.

Taxi Taxi is the brainchild of musician and producer Terence Bernardo. The band serendipitously met in the back of a shared cab during the fabled New York City transit strike of 2005. Small talk ensued as driver fought through the morning rush hour and soon the passengers discovered a shared affinity for the sounds of Stax Records and varied artists such as ESG, Harry Nillson and Big Star. Within a month, the newfound friends were capitalizing on their luck, rehearsing in Bernardo's Brooklyn studio and recording what would eventually blossom (after some time in Kid Koala's Montreal studio), into Maps and Legends. With roots firmly planted in strong songwriting and inventive production, Taxi Taxi's sound defies easy classification. The band serves up classic pop tunes that are by turns rocky and melancholic, experimental and nostalgic.