John Beasley

John Rule Beasley (born October 10, 1960) is a multi-faceted musician who is a pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader and producer for recording, TV, film, and other creative projects. He has 11 albums earning him five GRAMMY nominations - four nominations for his MONK'estra project. Since the inauguration of UNESCO's International Jazz Day, Beasley has been the Music Director for the global gala concerts for the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz (formerly the Monk Institute). Jazz Day at the White House earned an Emmy nomination for Beasley's musical direction.

John Beasley’s career brims with accomplishments that bridge musical and visual media. An uncommonly versatile pianist, he began playing in his 20s with jazz icons Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. He went on to perform with Dianne Reeves, Steely Dan, Chaka Khan, Carly Simon, Christian McBride, A.R. Rahman, Queen Latifah, John Patitucci and many others, even one concert with James Brown).

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Beasley is third-generation musician who was raised in a house filled with music. His grandfather, Rule Oliver played trombone in territory bands and was a junior high school band director for 50 years in Arkansas. His mother, Lida Beasley, was a brass instrumentalist, who for most of her career taught music at various public schools and colleges, along with being band director and conducting operas, earning a local Emmy award for her work in Faust.

Growing up around musicians, Beasley learned how to play trumpet, oboe, drums, saxophone, and flute, mostly because of his mother's need for wind instrumentalists for her bands. His father, Rule Curtis Beasley (b. 1931), is a pianist and bassoonist, who played with the Fort Worth and Dallas Symphony Orchestras. Rule Beasley also was a professor of music composition at University of North Texas College of Music and at Santa Monica College, where he taught many musicians performing today.

Beasley created a drum set with garbage can lids and kitchen pots and pans when he was around two years old. His grandfather started bringing him drum parts, which he put together, and had a drum set from age four to high school. Beasley began piano lessons at the age of seven and stopped taking formal lessons when he started high school. In sixth grade, he had private lessons with a university oboe teacher that lasted three years. He taught himself to play the sax, flute, and trumpet and began playing for the John Adams Junior School and Santa Monica College orchestras that his mother led.

Beasley started writing music in junior high school. After his father bought him a Bobby Timmons record, he wanted to play jazz. In Grade 7, he formed a jazz band with high school-aged friends. Always mesmerized by inner melodies and day-dreaming, on family camping trips he packed his score pad to compose and arrange. Beasley started writing arrangements for projects in junior high school, which sparked the attention of [[Jimmy Lyons—the founder of the [[Monterey Jazz Festival—who recommended him for a scholarship at the Stan Kenton summer jazz camp.

Career

While touring with Miles Davis, Beasley was inspired to make his first of eleven recordings, Cauldron —which was produced by [[Walter Becker of Steely Dan. His 2011 album [[Positootly! earned him his first GRAMMY® Award-nomination. He earned four more GRAMMY nominations for his latest MONK’estra project. His 3rd project with [[Mack Avenue Records will be released in Fall 2020.

When UNESCO and the Thelonious Monk Institute (now the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz]]) were looking for a Musical Director for their annual global gala concerts, George Duke and Dianne Reeves recommended Beasley. He has since directed all the concerts performed in Paris, Istanbul, Osaka, Havana, St Petersburg, Washington, DC White House), Melbourne, and the 2020 upcoming concert in Cape Town. The White House concert was televised on ABC, which earned Beasley an Emmy nomination.

Beasley also directs the Monk (Hancock) Competition’s all-star gala tributes, which have been tributes to Terrence Blanchard, Quincy Jones, Bill Clinton, George Duke and Aretha Franklin.

As a bandleader, Beasley has taken his MONK’estra project to over 50+ stages with his big band or septet or conducted professional or student big bands all over the world. He continues touring to support the upcoming 3rd album.

Beasley continues to be a chameleon putting on many hats as the calls come in. He produced a Fado jazz album with Portuguese singer Maria Mendes and the Metrople Okest]]. He co-produced two albums with Weather Report’s Peter Erskine, the first, Dr.Um, earned a 2017 GRAMMY® nomination.

Living in Hollywood, Beasley juggled a touring musician’s schedule while working in studios composing for award-winning television sitcoms including Fame, Cheers, Family Ties, Star Trek: The Next Generation, to name a few. He has worked with multiple Oscar-nominated film composer Thomas Newman for over three decades on credits including [[1917, James Bond Spectre and Skyfall, Get On Up: James Brown, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel I & II, Finding Nemo & Finding Dory, Wall-E, Shawshank Redemption and more.

In the era of reality singing shows, Beasley was Lead Arranger for the juggernaut American Idol and helped usher in Carrie Underwood to victory in 2005 as Associate Musical Producer that season. He directed the music program for several TV specials, including Duets with John Legend, Sing Your Face Off, and Sports Illustrated, 50th Anniversary.

His signature big band arrangements and conducting skills have brought invitations to write for Joey DeFrancesco, Jazzmeia Horn, Jose James, Dianne Reeves, Ruthie Foster, Duke Ellington and others.

To mark Charlie Parker’s Centennial in 2020, Beasley created a big band and strings project called “Bird Lives @ 100” with Swedish musician Magnus Lindren.They will record and tour Bird Lives in Germany, Sweden, Russia, USA… in 2020 and beyond.

John Beasley’s MONK’estra World Tour Info: www.JohnBeasleyMusic.com