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MONK'estra: MONK'estra Plays John Beasley

By Jack Bowers
November 6, 2021
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MONK'estra: MONK'estra Plays John Beasley

The MONK'estra is actually a number of groups of various shapes and sizes, from duo to big band, assembled under the guiding hand of composer, arranger & pianist

John Beasley

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">John Beasley to—wait for it!—"play John Beasley," an artist whose admiration for Thelonious Sphere Monk is clear throughout this buoyant and resourceful album, as it was on Volumes 1 and 2 of the series, in which the MONK'estra "played Monk."

Beasley wrote eight of the album's fourteen genial numbers (and arranged them all), Monk four,

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis/

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker and

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington one apiece. The full band plays on half a dozen tracks, the MONK'estra Septet on four, a nonet on one, a quartet on another. Synthesizers (played by Beasley and

Steve Tavaglione

woodwinds

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Tavaglione) are used on the brief "Intermission," a trio (Beasley, bassist

John Patitucci

bass
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">John Patitucci, drummer

Vinnie Colaiuta

drums
b.1956

" data-original-title="" title="">Vinnie Colaiuta) on Beasley's ballad "Be.YOU.tiful." There are guests on five numbers:

Gregoire Maret

harmonica
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Gregoire Maret (harmonica) on "Monk's Mood" and "Five Spot,"

Joey DeFrancesco

organ, Hammond B3
1971 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Joey DeFrancesco (organ) on "Rhythm-a-Ning/Evidence,"

Hubert Laws

woodwinds
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Hubert Laws (flute) on "Locomotive,"

Jubilant Sykes

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Jubilant Sykes (vocal) on Ellington's "Come Sunday."

Beasley's nods to Monk are everywhere, especially (but not exclusively) on Monk's compositions: "Monk's Mood," "Rhythm-a- Ning," "Off Minor," "Locomotive," the last taken at a pace that is more suggestive of a tugboat than a freight or passenger train. Beasley's "Steve-O" opens the session in a brisk and Monkish mood with solos to match by the leader on piano and Brian Swartz on trumpet. "Sam Rivers" offers more up-tempo fireworks before "Monk's Mood" slows the pace, setting the stage for Parker & Gillespie's multi-layered "Donna Lee" (a.k.a. "Indiana") whose choppy section passages are so demanding that even the MONK'estra, good as it is, has trouble sorting them out.

The band is splendid on the sensuous "Song for Dub" and the closing "Come Sunday," as is the septet on "Implication" and "Masekela." Maret is the guest on "Monk's Mood" and the well-grooved "Five Spot." While Beasley doesn't play piano like Monk (who could?), his arrangements capture the tenor and temperament of the maestro, and the MONK'estra(s) work hard to give them life and purpose. With more than forty of Monk's astute and quirky compositions yet to be recorded by Beasley and the MONK'estra, there is ample room—and incentive—for Volume 4 and beyond.

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Track Listing

Steve-O; Sam Rivers; Monk's Mood; Donna Lee; Song For Dub; Five Spot; Implication; Intermission; Masekela; Rhythm-A-Ning/Evidence; Off Minor; Be.YOU.tiful; Locomotive; Come Sunday.

Personnel

John Beasley

piano

Bob Sheppard

saxophone, tenor

John Patitucci

bass

Vinnie Colaiuta

drums

Ulysses Owens, Jr.

drums

Terreon Gully

drums

Benjamin Shepherd

bass

Gregoire Maret

harmonica

Joey DeFrancesco

organ, Hammond B3

Hubert Laws

woodwinds

Jubilant Sykes

vocals

Ralph Moore

saxophone

Joey De Leon

congas

Wendell Kelly

trombone

Bijon Watson

trumpet

Danny Janklow

saxophone

Adam Schroeder

saxophone, baritone

Kye Palmer

trumpet

Francisco Torres

trombone

Brian Swartz

trumpet

Additional Instrumentation

Saxophones/Woodwinds: Chris Lewis; Tom Peterson; Tom Luer. Trombones: Ryan Dragon; Ido Meshulam; Steve Hughes. Trumpets/Flugelhorns: James Ford; Rashawn Ross. Synthesizer: Steve Tavaglione.

Album information

Title: MONK'estra Plays John Beasley | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Mack Avenue Records

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