bio
“Beasley, the one-time keyboardist for Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis, 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
John Beasley - Pianist • Composer • Arranger • Producer • Music Director
Pianist, composer, and arranger John Beasley has built a genre-spanning career bridging jazz, classical, pop, and film/TV music. A musical shapeshifter with deep jazz roots, he rose to prominence in his 20s performing with Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard, and has since collaborated with artists including Dianne Reeves, Christian McBride, Chaka Khan, Chucho Valdés, and Steely Dan.
Beasley’s acclaimed recordings include the 2x GRAMMY® winning, 14x nominated MONK’estra trilogy, Bird Lives, Returning to Forever, El Trio, Maria Mendes, and Positootly! and two Latin GRAMMY nominations, reflecting his wide-ranging impact as both a composer, arranger, and producer.
As Music Director for the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, Beasley leads the globally broadcast International Jazz Day gala concerts, staged in cities including Istanbul, Havana, Osaka, and Tangier, with Chicago hosting in 2026. His musical direction for Jazz at the White House earned an Emmy nomination.
In 2026, Beasley will mark the centennials of Miles Davis and John Coltrane through five major projects. Central among them is Unlimited Miles, a new ensemble he will lead on a global tour beginning in March. In collaboration with Marcus Miller, Beasley will reimagine Tutu and Amandla with the Metropole Orkest. He will conduct Hamburg’s NDR Big Band playing his reimagination of Filles de Kilimanjaro, and with Frankfurt’s HR Big Band featuring Isaiah Collier, he will explore the music of Coltrane. In Sweden, Beasley will mark the triple centennials of Miles, Coltrane, and Stockholm’s Konserthuset Concert Hall by revisiting the repertoire from historic concerts Miles and Coltrane performed at the legendary venue. In between, Beasley will continue to tour with Dianne Reeves and squeeze in a gig with his own MONK’estra.
Upcoming releases include Invisible Piano with the SWR Big Band, recorded on a Steinway Spiro (o-tone music), and Unlimited Miles: Live from Blue Note Tokyo (Mack Avenue Records). When not touring, Beasley collaborates closely with 15-x Oscar-nominated composer Thomas Newman, contributing to major film scores including Skyfall and Spectre, and joining Newman on the upcoming Star Wars feature.
MONK’estra
In 2013, Beasley fulfilled a childhood dream by forming his own big band he called MONK’estra to showcase his singular arranging voice. Mack Avenue Records released his MONK’estra trilogy of albums (2017, 2018, and 2020), which earned six consecutive GRAMMY® nominations and a win for Best Arrangement of “Donna Lee”. Beasley has taken this playing the music of MONK’estra in different size esembles: big band, septet, or trio and orchestras worldwide have invited Beasley to perform this muisic, including student big bands.
European Orchestras
Beasley has become an in-demand arranger-conductor for European jazz orchestras, conducting commissions for Frankfurt’s HR Big Band, Stuttgart’s SWR Big Band, Sweden’s Blue House Big Band, the Latvian Radio Big Band, and others across Europe and the U.S. His projects Somi: Holy Room, Bird Lives, and Returning to Forever earned five GRAMMY® nominations and an award. His Fado-jazz collaborations with Portuguese vocalist Maria Mendes and the Netherlands’ Metropole Orkest received four GRAMMY® nominations, two Latin GRAMMY® nominations, and a Dutch Edison Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Beyond Jazz
Beasley’s work as a composer and arranger extends far beyond jazz, arranging the music of Queen for the Luxembourg Philharmonic and the music of Rui Veloso, known as Portugual’s ‘rock star’ for a symphony band. His output remains prodigious with symphonic commissions for the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Bielefeld Philharmonic. In 2024, he released three albums: Returning to Forever (a re-imagination of Chick Corea’s music), El Trio: Live in Italy (hailed by LatinJazz.net as “10 spectacular charts played beautifully”), and Butterfly Effect (a duo with Swedish saxophonist Magnus Lindgren, rated 4.5 stars by DownBeat).
Film and TV
When not touring, Beasley works on film and TV projects. He began composing for television at age 24, working for Paramount, Disney, and other studios on shows such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Cheers, and Fame. His performance and drum programming can be heard on many of Newman’s films, including Elemental, 1917, Spectre, Skyfall, Finding Dory, Get on Up (James Brown), and The Shawshank Redemption. Newman also invited Beasley to orchestrate and conduct MONK’estra in Steven Soderbergh’s Let Them All Talk, starring Meryl Streep. In 2026, he will work on three films, including Star Wars.
Educator
A dedicated educator, Beasley conducts master classes worldwide and frequently works with intergenerational ensembles. He has written commissions for youth orchestras including the L.A. Philharmonic’s YOLA and Carnegie Hall’s NYO. Beasley served as President of the Board of Directors for the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC) in 2024-2025.
AWARDS Info:
2 GRAMMY® awards: both in “Best Arrangement” category
12 GRAMMY® nominations:
six of 12 nominations: “Best Arrangement”
four of 12 nominations: “Best Large Jazz Ensemble”
one of 12 nomination: “Best solo” piano
one of 12 nomination: “Best Instrumental Album” Positootly!
Two LATIN GRAMMY nominations: “Best Arrangement”
An EMMY nomination is for “Best Musical Direction”
An EDISON AWARD (Netherlands): “Best Jazz Vocal Album” Close to Me with Maria Mendes
KEY POSITIONS held:
President, International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC)
GRAMMY® Govenor (2 terms)
–Los Angeles Times
“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.”
PRESS PHOTOS:
LinkTree
Lorna at JohnBeasleyMusic.com
“Beasley is a very clever arranger who works his charts hard, and this album is continuously surprising.
An ingenious interpreter of Monk [Beasley] conducts like Thad Jones”
“Beasley’s Monk’estra set was a dazzling display of fresh interpretations. The enlightening set closed with vigorous applause from the house.”
“MONK’estra brought the project thrillingly to life with their razor-sharp ensemble work and rhythmic authenticity… hip-hop merges with swing and sensuous Ellingtonia sits on a sparse contemporary pulse”
“John Beasley’s bold re-fashionings 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.”
“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.”