John Beasley's MONK'estra 

Triple Birthday Celebration of Monk, Beasley and MONK'estra!

Double GRAMMY® winner and Emmy-nominated recording artist John Beasley leads a smashing 15-piece big band, MONK’estra, which has performed more than 80 concerts around the world. 

The feel and sound of MONK’estra captures the spirit of Thelonious Monk’s singular style with its off-beat melodies, humor, strange beauty and unbounded swing in fresh arrangements that have an eye to the future infused with contemporary harmonies, unstoppable grooves, flavored with hints of New Orleans, hip-hop, Afro-Cuban, and a contagious sense of fun.

Beasley—a far-ranging pianist, composer, and arranger who has performed with Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Steely Dan, Chaka Khan, Christian McBride —is easily one of the most versatile musicians in jazz. 

He leads a multi-faceted career as a bandleader, a first-call keyboardist, composer/arranger for bands and film and television projects. He is the Music Director for the Herbie Hancock Jazz Institute’s International Jazz Day global concerts. In 2016, he earned an Emmy nomination for “Jazz at the White House” for Best Musical Direction (ABC TV). 

Beasley has produced albums/projects for Dianne Reeves, Peter Erskine, Lee Ritenour, Portuguese singer Maria Mendes, Japanese singer Chie Ayado, Cuban saxophonist Yosvany Terry, SWR Big Band. He was music director for Indian composer AR Rahman’s (Slumdog Millionaire) global tour.

Beasley has 11 GRAMMY nominations with two wins for Best Arranger “Donna Lee” on his “MONK’estra Plays John Beasley” album (2020) and “Scrapple from the Apple” on “Bird Lives” album (2023).

“Some of the most mesmerizing big band music of recent memory.” Intl Review of Music

"Beasley hits us dead center, features rapid-fire surprises, spiky asides and a quirky sense of truthful swing. Beasley’s band will leave you rapt. He brings Monk to life once again for modern-minded listeners" 5 stars – Downbeat, Jazz Journal UK, Audiophile Sound Italy