Winter in America   06.09.16

John Beasley’s MONK’estra performed their empathetic, swinging and sometimes hiphop-tinged revisions of Thelonious Monk tunes at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in Lincoln Centre on Thursday night, in front of a window with a view of Trump Tower. And, as Beasley reminded us, Monk himself had grown up literally only a stone’s throw away, on West 63rd Street.

Review: MONK’estra shows why Monk’s music thrives   06.09.16

“...Beasley’s arrangements in some cases apply funk, electronic and other seemingly anachronistic influences to Monk’s music, as if pushing this repertoire to a stylistic breaking point.”- Chicago Tribune

Not Your Father’s Big Band   06.09.16

On Monk’estra Vol. 1 (Mack Avenue), L.A. keyboardist-composer-arranger John Beasley brings that same kind of boundless energy and fresh vision to the music of Thelonious Monk.

John Beasley’s MONK’estra Reinvents Thelonious Monk for the 21st Century [LA Weekly]   06.09.16

Jazz pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader John Beasley began his career in the early 1980s, around the time jazz’s Young Men in Suits proclaimed that bebop was the one true way of life. They spoke solemnly about “keeping the flame,” “honoring the tradition” and other such homilies. Record companies, clubs and festivals got out their checkbooks and rewarded these young firebrands, many of whom would have been rated as just OK in the eras they sought to reconstitute.

Beasley’s MONK’estra Takes Thelonious’ Tunes on Wild Ride   06.09.16

From the Afro-Cuban re-imagining of “Epistrophy” to a lively rap version of “Brake’s Sake,” Thelonious Monk’s classic tunes were taken for a wild ride by pianist-bandleader John Beasley’s 15-piece MONK’estra big band at the opening night of the North Sea Jazz Festival.

‘American Idol’ vet John Beasley salutes Thelonoius Monk with MONK’estra   06.09.16

“I like the word ‘playfulness,’ because I’ve been saying ‘humorous’ and playful is more accurate,” said Beasley, who was not yet a teenager when he got hooked on Monk.

A Conversation with John Beasley   06.09.16

Monk’estra, Volume Two is here, and it was well worth the wait. Digging deeper into the Monk catalogue, and allowing members of the band and select special guests to stretch out a but have made this is a delight. 

Notes on Jazz Best of Jazz for 2016   06.09.16

My best of Jazz List for 2016:

Another year has passed and many would say 2016 was a very tough year for music, especially with the loss of so many influential musicians this past year. The music has always been remarkably resilient and this year is no exception, with many fine new artists having fabulous debut albums

Grammy-nominated John Beasley goes off the hook on Vol. 2 of ‘MONK’estra’   06.09.16

"Beasley’s tribute extends the Monk legacy of profound originality, deep-seated passion for the turbulence of the times, and an openness to improvisation in whoever takes the band seat.”- Festival Peak

John Beasley Remembers Steely Dan’s Walter Becker: ‘He Had a Way of Getting Everybody Laughing’   06.09.16

John Beasley considered the late Walter Becker an essential mentor and a key figure in his own career. The Grammy-nominated keyboardist, composer and arranger started working with Becker in 1987. 

Top Picks: ‘MONK’estra, Vol. 1,’ WBUR’s ‘Kind World’ podcast, and more [News Hub]   06.09.16

The Kind World podcast from WBUR is sure to make your day a little brighter. The podcast tells stories about people who have been affected in a positive way by others. John Beasley orchestrates a 15-piece big band of Los Angeles’s finest jazz musicians. MONK’estra, Vol. 1 is, as the man himself might say, a gas.

Keyboard Magazine’s 2016 Top 10 Music Lists   06.09.16

Keyboard Magazine's 2016 Top 10 Music Lists featuring Mack Avenue artists John Beasley and Yellowjackets. Our hope is that the releases below will lead you to artists you haven't heard (or remind you of some you may have missed or forgotten).