Born and raised in Connecticut in a family of nine children, Monica Hatch was drawn to both classical music and jazz from the beginning of her musical journey. Influenced by her parents’ love of music (her father was a pianist and fiddler, her mother was a soprano in the church choir), she listened to her father’s recordings of Meade Lux Lewis, Oscar Peterson and Dave Brubeck while learning the music of Handel, Vivaldi, Schubert and Delibe. Monica was also introduced to many other jazz legends during her teen years including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Mary Lou Williams, Bob Brookmeyer, Paul Desmond, Wes Montgomery, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and more. At the same time she began studying piano, flute and recorder and sang solos in school choruses and played with the instrumental ensembles. Her mother urged Monica to join the church choir at the age of 12 where her singing abilities were quickly recognized as she sang solos for weddi...