John Beasley

JOHN BEASLEY
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PIANIST / COMPOSER / ARRANGER / MUSIC DIRECTOR / PRODUCER / CONDUCTOR / EDUCATOR
Double GRAMMY® winner, 12x nominee | Emmy nominee | 2x Latin Grammy nominee | Steinway artist

Beginnings
John Beasley is a versatile pianist, composer, arranger who began his career in his 20s backing jazz icons Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and Sergio Mendes. Since then, Beasley has performed with a wide range of artists, including Dianne Reeves, Christian McBride, John Patitucci, Chaka Khan, Lee Ritenour, Peter Erskine, Somi, to name a few. He stepped up as music director for international tours with Steely Dan, AR Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire), Queen Latifah and Chucho Valdes.

Recording Artist
As a recording artist, Beasley has 15+ albums which have earned him two Grammys, 12 nominations and two Latin Grammy nominations. Beasley’s big band project, MONK’estra, is a trilogy of albums which earned him six consecutive GRAMMY nominations and a win. As co-producer/arranger and pianist on "Bird Lives", a re-imagination of Charlie Parker's music with the Stuttgart's SWR Big Band and a string ensemble with Artistic Director, Magnus Lindgren, Beasley earned a 2023 GRAMMY for the arrangement of "Scrapple from the Apple" and 3 nominations.

He ventured into two Fado-jazz projects with Portuguese singer Maria Mendes writing arrangements and conducting the Metropole Orkest. Both albums "Close to Me" and "Suadade: Colours of Love" earned two Latin Grammy nominations and two Grammy nominations. Close to Me also won the Dutch Edison award for "Best Jazz Vocal" album in 2021.

Music Director - Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz
When UNESCO declared April 30 as "International Jazz Day" in 2011, John Beasley was appointed Music Director for its annual global gala concerts, which are hosted by the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. Since 2012, Beasley helmed concerts in Paris, Istanbul, Osaka, St Petersburg, Havana, Melbourne, Washington DC, New Orleans, New York and Los Angeles, which are broadcast on PBS TV. The 2016 "Jazz at the White House" gala hosted by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama earned Beasley an Emmy nomination for Best Musical Direction (ABC TV).

Film/TV
Beasley’s work as a composer-arranger-pianist extends beyond jazz with many credits in TV and film, particularly with 15x Oscar-nominee film composer Thomas Newman who has scored blockbusters, including Elemental, 1917, James Bond’s Spectre & Skyfall, Finding Dory, He Named Me Malala and Shawshank Redemption. Newman invited John to orchestrate & conduct his big band MONK’estra in Steven Soderbergh's "Let them all Talk" with Meryl Streep. At the age of 24, Beasley started composing for TV working for Paramount, Disney and other studios on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Cheers, Fame, to name a few series. He was handpicked to be Music Director for TV specials and singing competitions, including Sports Illustrated "50 Years of Beautiful", "Duets" with John Legend, "Sing Your Face Off", "The Search for the Next Pussycat Girl". For American Idol's 4th season, Beasley was Associate MD ushering Carrie Underwood to victory. He then spent a decade working as Lead Arranger for "American Idol" and "The Tonight Show" with Rickey Minor as MD.

Big Band, Symphonic Jazz Commissions
Over the recent five years, Beasley's output has been prodigious whether writing, recording or performing with his MONK'estra big band; conducting and arranging special programs for several European big bands every year; and venturing into symphonic jazz after winning JAM Music Lab's international composition competition with his "Simplexity" piece performed by the renowned Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, Chucho Valdes selected Beasley to arrange part of his "La Creacion" suite and tour as co-MD and keyboardist.

Bandleader
When not writing, Beasley can be found touring world stages with Dianne Reeves or with his various bands: "El Trio" with Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez and Jose Gola; "Butterfly Effect" duo with Magnus Lindgren; MONK'estra big band/trio; his Christmas band "Holidaze" trio, or found in his Hive Studio writing and producing albums for various artists.

Educator
As an educator, Beasley is committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians. He conducts master classes at music schools around the world. He has been fortunate to write commissions for Los Angeles Philharmonic's Youth Orchestra Los Angeles and Carnegie Hall National Youth Orchestra.

Upcoming Albums
In 2024, Beasley will release five albums as bandleader or conductor/arranger/producers. Stay tuned.

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“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

"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. –Downbeat 5 stars

‘'John Beasley’s bold refashionings of Thelonious Monk once again hit the jackpot. Beasley's not just breathing new life into Monk's repertoire - he's firing up the big band scene.” –BBC Music Magazine