Record producer Quincy Jones once said that musician John Beasley “can make an orchestra sing like an uncaged bird.”

A pianist, composer, and arranger, Beasley has been nominated for 12 Grammys and won two.

On March 8, a day ahead of his performance at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Beasley will give a master class at 2 p.m. at the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza Branch.

The hour-long, all-ages class is presented in partnership with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra. He'll discuss his process and approach to a life in music, as well as his professional recording career.

Beasley is best known for his work as Miles Davis’ keyboardist and his composition credits on blockbuster films including 1917, James Bond movies Spectre and Skyfall, Finding Dory, Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Shawshank Redemption. He’s also acted as the musical director for American Idol, as well as for the international tours of Steely Dan, A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) and Queen Latifah.

During the masterclass, Beasley may also cover methods of creating jazz, as well as the magic of improvisation. He’ll play the 1910 Chickering grand piano housed at the Plaza Branch; the instrument was donated in 2008 by the estate of Stanley E. Baska, a Kansas City opera enthusiast and business owner.

For more information, please visit the event page.