Grammys and Fireworks for New Orleans’ Own
11th April 2022 · 0 Comments
By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer
On the evening of April 3, fireworks lit up the sky and their booms rang out around the city of New Orleans. Granted, the pyrotechnic display was for the benefit of the Final Four basketball tournament taking place in the Crescent City that weekend. For the city’s many Jon Batiste fans, however, the sound of the fireworks celebrated the announcement that Batiste’s release, “We Are,” had won the Grammy’s Album of the Year award, the academy’s highest honor. Talk about perfect timing.
Jon’s mother and father, grandfather, sister and other family members were sitting at a nearby table at the ceremony in Las Vegas when the announcement of “We Are” as the winning album was read by Lenny Kravitz. “It was one of the most exciting moments of my life,” exclaims Michael Batiste of his son’s achievement. “My grandson said he didn’t know I could jump that high!”
As impressive as his being honored for “We Are” was Jon’s thoughtfully humble acceptance speech became to many people an equally awe-inspiring moment. After looking absolutely stunned, even perplexed, by the win, he arrived at the podium and began laughing with delight. “Hey, wow,” he exclaimed smiling. Then he became philosophical saying, “I believe this to my core that there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor. The creative arts are subjective and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it the most… It’s more than entertainment for me. It’s a spiritual practice.”
For some, that statement glowed and echoed the sentiments of one of Jon’s many influential teachers, the late great clarinetist and educator Alvin Batiste who he studied with at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA). Experiencing Alvin’s classes went beyond notes and time signatures. He offered holistic lessons of life.
“Alvin came in and charmed everyone,” says pianist Michael Pellera who had Jon as a student in his junior and senior years at the prestigious school. “Once he was here Jon had another force in his life. He was in Alvin’s band (the Jazztronauts) and mentored him. He had a profound influence on him.”
“When I started at NOCCA in 2002, I had (pianists) Jon Batiste and Sullivan Fortner as students,” Pellera continues. “I was like what? Wait a minute. I was in college for 12 years and now two 16 year old kids are playing at this level? Talk about flipping the roles of the master and the student.”
Jon Batiste, who grew up in a very musical family and whose first gigs were with the Batiste Family Band, took the knowledge he acquired as a student at St. Augustine and NOCCA and used it as building blocks when he entered the Julliard School of Music. He also took a piece of New Orleans with him.
Pellera, who presently holds the Jazz Chair at NOCCA, recently spent the first hour of his class watching some of Jon’s videos with his students. He ended the session by showing the “Freedom” video.
“That’s a spectacular song and a spectacular video,” he exclaims. “It totally tripped me out – it caught me by surprise. It’s a great album. Jon has that upbringing with his family band where you learn all those Stevie Wonder tunes and Motown – stuff that a young person wouldn’t necessarily learn. So he has that aesthetic that if you want a pop hit you better have a hook and some great choruses so I think he understands that. I’m very proud to see that he is aware of social issues and I’ve seem him in some of the marches and demonstrations. I’m glad that he is using his celebrity for good.”
Earlier in the day on that momentous Sunday, in a ceremony that, unfortunately, wasn’t televised, Jon collected four other Grammy awards. He earned accolades in the Best Music Video for “Freedom,” which was shot in New Orleans and included many locals and just killed with energy, color and hot dance moves. He performed the song “Freedom,” which is from the “We Are” album, at the nighttime event and had everyone on their feet. Jon danced down from the stage, stood on a table with an excited Grammy nominated singer Billie Eilish clapping and jumping just below him. At the daytime event he picked up a Grammy for “Cry,” also from the album, in the categories of Best American Roots Music and Roots Song as well as sharing the award for Best Score Sound Track for his collaborative work on the animated movie “Soul.”
Pianist, vocalist and composer Jon Batiste has never been one to musically be put in a box as can be realized by the stylistic diversity of his recorded material. “That’s okay, I always break ‘em!” he declared during an interview in 2018. Some folks discovered him playing soul and rhythm and blues with the Batiste Family Band, also known as the Batiste Brothers Band. Others first encountered Jon’s talent as a serious modern jazz pianists when his father Michael and mother Katherine would bring him to Snug Harbor to perform. They always sat in the back of the club looking as proudly as they certainly did during the 64th Annual Grammy Awards when he took the big prize
A wider audience got to know Jon as the gregarious leader of his Stay Human group that since 2015 has been the house band for the television program “The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert.” He would get the audience goin’ when he’d weave through the crowd, New Orleans secondline style, blowin’ on a melodica, a hand-held, wind keyboard instrument. Next up for Batiste is the world premiere of his American Symphony at New York’s Carnegie Hall taking place at the end of April. It pays tribute to the contributions of “musical visionaries” who have performed at the famed venue such as Duke Ellington, Mahalia Jackson and Nina Simone.
It could be argued that New Orleans musicians move more freely – jump out of “boxes” – between genres than most artists from other locales. Examples of this would include the late great trumpeter Clyde Kerr Jr. who performed at some five different Jazz Fest stages going from playing traditional jazz to avant-garde with saxophonist Kidd Jordan. Ditto for baritone saxophonist Roger Lewis who blows hard with the Treme Brass Band, in swinging big bands, creatively in progressive groups and spent years playing New Orleans R&B with Fats Domino.
Stylistic diversity was a natural for Jon Batiste, 35, who absorbed it all during his youthful days in New Orleans. “Be you, that’s it,” he finally offered while standing at the Grammy awards podium during his heartfelt thank yous. He again had a big smile on his face as fireworks went off around New Orleans.◊
