John Beaty

John Beaty currently lives and performs in New York, NY. Well seasoned from years of touring Europe, Japan, Canada, and America, John has dedicated many hours to mastering the saxophone. He graduated from the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy, received his BFA from The New School in 2005 and received his MA from NYU in 2007.

As a performer John has played with many brilliant musicians including Jean-Michel Pilc, Richard Bona, Ruben Blades, Larry Harlow, Andy Milne, Dafnis Prieto, Chris Potter, Kenny Werner, Lenny Pickett, and Reggie Workman. Currently John can be seen with Bobby Sanabria's Big Band, Jason Lindner's Breeding Ground, Joe Beaty's Morning Musuko, and Beaumont, his own co-led group with his twin brother Joe.

Beaumont Live at Brooklyn Lyceum ft. Jason Lindner - Unitas

As a teacher John has taught at saxophone at NYU, the music of John Coltrane as a sub for Reggie Workman at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and underprivileged children ages K to 8th grade through the company Education Through Music.

As a music copyist and assistant to Robert Sadin, John has been able to assist several top artists including Kathleen Battle and Sting.

Saxophone students who study with John will have the opprotunity to get a strong routine going that works for the individual. The basis of any great saxophonist is a healthy schedule of fundamentals. Known for his twelve-hour-long practice days, John is a firm believer in hard work. Anybody can be good at saxophone, says John. When John first tried to play saxophone it took him 2 months just to make a sound and he was told the saxophone was not for him. Obviously, all the hard work has paid off.

John's Original Saxophone Instructional Snippet

John is also a huge supporter of the teachings of local legend John Purcell. John Purcell has taught many great saxophonists from Kenny Garrett, Michael Brecker, David Sanborn, and Myron Walden. John Beaty was very lucky to get to study with this legendary saxophone teacher.

Students looking to study theory and improvisation will have access to John's personal concepts and pieces of theory that have been handed down to him by various influential teachers. For example, John possesses a hand-written chart orignally made by John Coltrane. This chart, later analyzed by Steve Coleman, was given to Beaty by Reggie Workman, who had received the chart from Alice Coltrane. From the basic major scale all the way to the outer limits of Music Theory John is prepared to answer any questions a student might have.

At John's home studio on the Upper West Side, a student will have access to keyboards and John's arsenal of saxophones including a rare C melody saxophone. John encourages his students to try his equipment while in his studio to give a clearer idea of how an ideal saxophone should feel to play.

Get Started with BML to set up a lesson with John.