Celebrating The Birth Of Monk, Monk’estra And John Beasley at Zipper Hall at Colburn School

John Beasley's MONK'estra is back for its annual birthday celebration in October.
-Thelonious Monk 10/10 - 106th anniversary
-John Beasley 10/10 birthday
- MONK'estra 10th anniversary

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...

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John Beasley's MONK'estra is back for its annual birthday celebration in October.
-Thelonious Monk 10/10 - 106th anniversary
-John Beasley 10/10 birthday
- MONK'estra 10th anniversary

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, gesticulating rather than sitting at the piano bench.”

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