Home » Events » John Beasley’s MONK’estra – Celebrating the Dual Birthdays of Monk and Beasley

John Beasley (Fair Use)
MUSIC: John Beasley shares a birthday with jazz legend Thelonious Monk born on October 10. With this happy coincidence, since Beasley formed his big band MONK’estra, he has celebrated the double birthday with concerts in Berlin, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo.

John Beasley’s MONK’estra – Celebrating the Dual Birthdays of Monk and Beasley

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Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/07/2023
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Location
Zipper Concert Hall

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John Beasley shares a birthday with jazz legend Thelonious Monk born on October 10. With this happy coincidence, since Beasley formed his big band MONK’estra, he has celebrated the double birthday with concerts in Berlin, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo. This year, the festivities take on a more special meaning as we mark the 10th anniversary of the inception of MONK’estra.

Jazz Times described Beasley as an “ingenious interpreter of Monk” [with a] “freewheeling Monk big band that draws inspiration from hip-hop, Afro-Cuban polyrhythms, and the expansiveness of Quincy Jones. Beasley’s arrangements shift from lush orchestration to taut bass-and-drum ostinatos and rhythmic modulations and from technically demanding unison passages to open solos performed over improvised instrumental backgrounds. Beasley conducts like Thad Jones, signaling with his hands and face when to extend a solo section or deviate from the written music.