M'ONKestra Plays John Beasley
“Be.YOU.tiful”
(Mack Avenue Records)
On their previous albums, John Beasley’s MONK’estra offered imaginative takes on music from Thelonious Monk’s enduring songbook. For their third release, M’ONKestra Plays John Beasley (Mack Avenue), the band certainly evokes its namesake —they interpret a quartet of Monk classics — while also adding compositions by its piano-playing leader, who penned eight of the 14...