John Beasley's MONK'estra Big Band

Beasley, a far-ranging pianist and arranger who’s worked with Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Queen Latifah and Steely Dan, leads a smashing new 16-piece big band that captures the spirit of Thelonious Monk’s singular music – the off-beat melodies and humor, strange beauty and unbounded swing – in fresh arrangements flavored with hip-hop, Afro-Cuban rhythms and atmospheric colors.