John Beasley: Bridging the Present and Future of Jazz
John Beasley is a highly accomplished, Grammy-award-winning jazz pianist, composer and arranger. His influence spans across various musical genres and media. His illustrious career includes collaborations with iconic figures such as Dianne Reeves, Chucho Valdes, Steely Dan, and Lee Ritenour. Since 2011, Beasley has served as the music director for Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz which produces UNESCO’s annual International Jazz Day global gala concerts, a testament to his enduring impact on the jazz world.
The Los Angeles Times aptly describes his unique style: “John Beasley, the one-time keyboardist for Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis, whose playing reflects a variety of generational influences, incorporates the emphatic clusters of Herbie Hancock, the rhythmic quirkiness of (Thelonious) Monk, and the lush intelligence of Art Tatum into a highly refined personal voice.”
As a recording artist, Beasley has released 20 albums. His big band project MONK’estra, recorded a trilogy of albums reimagining Thelonious Monk’s music and toured around the world, including London, Berlin, Tokyo and all over the US., MONK’estra earned six consecutive Grammy nominations and one win. In 2021, he won another Grammy Award for his arrangement of Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee” on his Bird Lives album.
You can listen to “Donna Lee” here.
Beyond jazz, Beasley has composed or performed on film and television music scores. He has worked with renowned composer Thomas Newman on films for over 30 years, on films including, 1917 and Finding Dory. His sound can be heard in blockbuster films and series known by millions, including Wall-E, Family Ties, Finding Nemo, Cheers, Austin Powers, Skyfall, and Erin Brockovich. Additionally, he has served as the lead arranger for American Idol.
In the studio and onstage, Beasley has played with a diverse array of artists, including Queen Latifah, Chaka Khan, A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire), Chie Ayado, and even one concert with James Brown. His signature writing and sound hasn’t gone unnoticed by the greats, like the call he received from. Miles Davis invited him to join his band in 1989.
“Miles was able to draw out his players’ personal stamp,” says jazz great (and ICAP president) Herbie Hancock. “In the case of Beasely, look at all the things that he’s done since then – and look at him now. He’s really blossomed.” In 2011, Hancock asked Beasely to become the music director the Hancock Institute (formerly the Monk Institute)’s gala concerts which includes the Hancock Competition and the annual International Jazz Day galas. Hancock serves as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In addition to Beasley’s professional achievements, he is deeply committed to music education. Just as he has received mentorship and training from the best of the best, despite his busy schedule, Beasely dedicated his time and energy to developing young musicians, often working with youth orchestras and college and high school students. He has written commissions for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra (YOLA) and the Carnegie Hall National Youth Orchestra (NYO).
Earlier this year, Beasely visited Santa Monica High School in California, where he performed and was a guest teacher. Before his performance at the school, Mr. Beasley shared, “I’ll be sitting in with my high school alma mater jazz band and one of my heroes, Stanley Clarke. I started playing with Stanley in 1987, a few years after I graduated . . . We’ve made music on and off throughout these years.”
It’s likely that his affinity for participating in music education came from his parents. His mother, Lida Beasley, was at one time the orchestra director at Santa Monica High School, and then at Santa Monica College. Speaking of his parents, Mr. Beasley recounted:
“Everyone who knows my family always says that my mother was the most talented of us all. She redirected talent to inspiring young musicians who eventually became either musicians, music teachers, or patrons of the arts. One of her famous students was Lenny Kravitz, who mentions her influence on him in his autobiography “Let Love Rule.” Beaseley’s father, Rule Curtis Beasley, played bassoon with the Dallas Fort-Worthg Symphony while he taught music at the University of North Texas. When the family moved to California, he taught at Santa Monica College until he retired. “I was always around music. I started banging on pots and pans when I was 4 years old. I wanted to be a drummer, but started piano lessons at around 8 years old. My mom taught me how to play the saxophone and trumpet because she ran an orchestra and needed me to fill in. I also learned to play oboe. I got the scholarship to the Julliard to study oboe, but wanted to be a jazz musician, so after high school I started touring with all kinds of bands. When I was 20, my first major concert was at Carnegie Hall with Hubert Laws, and I studied piano, but in my teens, I played guitar, drums, saxophone, trumpet and oboe. Returning to piano and jazz, at 20, I performed my first major concert at Carnegie Hall with Hubert Laws, John Patitucci and the drummer Joey Heredia. I am so grateful to my parents for their love of music and pushing for high standards. They were great mentors.”
Beasley’s dedication to mentoring the next generation of jazz musicians was seenat his concert with his new trio at Sam First jazz bar near Los Angeles Airport. He invited 25-year old Devin Daniels, as guest artist and called up Daniel Rotem another sax player and alumni of the Hancock Institute to perform with his John Beasley Jazz Circle.
“I learned on the job” says John Beasely, “I played every gig I could find with older musicians since I was 14 years old, because that’s how you become a better musician too. It’s important to help young people be confident and find their voice.”
John Beasely Jazz Circle:
Edwin Livingston (bass)
Christian Euman (drums; graduate of Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz)
John Beasley (piano)
special guest: Devin Daniels (alto sax; graduate of Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz)
special guest: Daniel Rotem (tenor sax; graduate of Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz)
