Overview
In LA in the early ’80s, the jazz hang was at the Come Back Inn. On an occasional night, twenty-year-old pianist John Beasley found himself onstage with Dianne Reeve’s band. John and Dianne went on similar trajectories, and always found a way to connect: playing on each other’s recordings; meeting for a meal in a faraway land; or coming together for special events, like a recording of Strange Fruit or International Jazz Day at the White House.
Eavesdrop on this Livestream chat between two longtime jazz friends who will reminisce about playing gigs, passing the hat, and what matters most in life as musicians.
About Dianne Reeves
GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz singer Dianne Reeves recorded and performed with Wynton Marsalis, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and sang as the featured soloist with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. She was also the first vocalist to perform at the famed Walt Disney Concert Hall, and she performed at the White House on multiple occasions such as President Barack Obama’s State Dinner for the President of China as well as the Governor’s Ball. Reeves was a recipient of honorary doctorate degrees from the Berklee College of Music and the Julliard School. In 2018, the National Endowment for the Arts designated Reeves a Jazz Master—the highest honor the United States bestows on jazz artists.
About John Beasley
John Beasley is a GRAMMY® winning and Emmy Award-nominated pianist, composer, arranger, producer and music director. He has performed with Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Dianne Reeves, Ivan Lins, John Patitucci, Chaka Khan, Christian McBride, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, and A.R. Rahman, to name a few. While on tour with Miles Davis, Beasley was inspired to record his first album Cauldron. A dozen albums later, Beasley has earned ten GRAMMY nominations, six for his project called MONK’estra, with one win. He is Music Director for the Herbie Hancock Jazz Institute which produces the global International Jazz Day gala concerts.
Produced by NJPAC and Seth Abramson, Rabbit Moon Productions
