MONK'estra Septet_PromoEPK_John Beasley
Channel: John Beasley Music
Date: 2017-08-08

John Beasley's MONK’estra Septet

GRAMMY®- and Emmy-nominated recording artist John Beasley presents his MONK'estra in septet form. 

SEPTET: featured in video
Bass: Darryl Jones
Drums: Gene Coye
Sax: Bob Sheppard, Tom Luer
Trombone: Lemar Gullary
Trumpet/Rapper: Dontae Winslow

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 flavored with hints of New Orleans, hip-hop, Afro-Cuban, contemporary and atmospheric rhythms and colors.  

Mack Avenue Records:  
MONK’estra Vol 1 is Beasley’s 11th recording. The Mack Avenue Records album went on to earn two 2017 GRAMMY nominations for Best Large Jazz Ensemble and Best Arranger for “Ask Me Now”.
MONK’estra re-imagines Monk’s compositions with an eye to the future with a killer contemporary big band that pays loving tribute to the master’s music while infusing it with contemporary harmonies, unstoppable grooves, and a contagious sense of fun.  

Much anticipated MONK'estra Volume 2 will be released September 1st, 2017.
Vol 2:
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/monkestra-vol-2/id1258331502

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/presents-MONKestra-Vol-John-Beasley/dp/B073JV433V/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1500312819&sr=8-12&keywords=john+beasley

Mack Avenue Records - John Beasley
http://www.mackavenue.com/artists/john-beasley


Beasley—a far-ranging pianist, composer, and arranger who has performed with Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Dianne Reeves, Steely Dan, Marcus Miller, Christian McBride —is easily one of the most versatile musicians in jazz. He leads a sparkling career as a bandleader, a first-call keyboardist, composer and arranger for bands and film and television projects.  He is the Music Director for the Thelonious Monk Institute, International Jazz Day concerts.  In 2016, he earned an Emmy nomination for “Jazz at the White House” for Best Musical Direction on ABC TV.  



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UPCOMING and PAST MONK'estra CONCERTS: 2017+2018
USA: 
Jazz Festivals:
     Monterey, Detroit, Chicago, Portland and Purdue Jazz Festivals

Venues: 
SFJazz
Jazz Standard NY
Walt Disney Concert Hall
San Diego Symphony/Bayside Concerts
The Palladium @ Carmel
Bijou Stage, Knoxville
Harlem Stage, NY
Jefferson Center, Roanoke

Europe:
North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam
Ronnie Scotts, London
JazzFestival Berlin
 
Guest Conductor: 
Moscow Jazz Orch (Moscow/St Petersburg)
Brussels Jazz Orch (Bozar/deSingel, Belgium)
Sweden Blue House Orchestra (Stockholm Concert Hall)
HR Big Band (Sendessal, Germany)
Harlem Stage with Manhattan School of Music Big Band
Frost School of Music, Gusman Hall, Miami

Asia: 
Blue Note Tokyo
Korea PyeongChang Festival

PAST CONCERTS:
New York/NJ: 
     Dizzy’s/Lincoln Center, Jazz Standard, Kingsborough Jazz Fest
Los Angeles: 
     Playboy Jazz Festival, Walt Disney Hall, Ford Amphitheatre, Jazz Bakery, LACMA, Central Ave Jazz Festival, 

Clubs: Blue Whale/Vitellos/Typhoon/RG 
San Francisco: SFJAZZ Center – 2013 + 2015
San Diego: Jazz Educators Network Conference – Opening Concert
Schools: Julliard, Rutgers, Cal State LA, CoDarts Rotterdam Conservatory

REVIEWS:
“Beasley’s arrangements captured Monk’s unique quirkiness, the offbeat accents, punchy dissonances and surprisingly soaring melodies with stunningly atmospheric ensemble textures. His obviously extraordinary orchestrating abilities, combined with superb individual soloing from virtually every musician, resulted in a definitive display of Big, Modern and Jazz Band.”
 -International Review of Music

“John Beasley, the one-time keyboardist for Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis, whose playing reflects a variety of generational influences, incorporating the emphatic chordal clusters of Herbie Hancock, the rhythmic quirkiness of Monk and the lush intelligence of Art Tatum into a highly refined personal voice.” -Los Angeles Times

“John Beasley is one of the best pianists and improvisers on the jazz scene today. Beasley is a master musician, with total command of the jazz language, and his playing is always intense in both emotion and technique.” 
-All About Jazz

www.johnbeasleymusic.com