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Fresh from his incandescent performance of “It Never Went Away” at the 96th Academy Awards, the highly acclaimed, multi-talented Jon Batiste heated things up, then tore them down at NYC’s Beacon Theater on Tuesday, March 19th.
The 5-time Grammy and Oscar-winning musician and former bandleader for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is in the middle of his first North American headlining tour to promote his latest album, World Music Radio. Jon Batiste’s “Uneasy Tour: Purifying the Airwaves for the People” kicked off on February 16 in Portland, Oregon, will span the US and Canada, and culminate in Miramar Beach, Florida on April 27.
Batiste aims to create unique experiences even in smaller venues. As he recently told USA Today: “We are designing these performances to be catalysts to bring people together, raise awareness for things I care about, and inspire change in this country, and the world.”
These are fine days for Batiste. Last year, he was nominated in six categories for the 2024 Grammy Awards. His nods included Album of the Year for World Music Radio, Record of the Year for “Worship.” His other nominations include Best Jazz Performance for “Movement 18′ (Heroes).” Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for his appearance on Lana Del Rey’s “Candy Necklace,” and Song of the Year for “Butterfly,” (also nominated for Best American Roots Performance).
Sadly, “Butterfly” didn’t win the Grammy but it sure was a winner with the audience.
Jon Batiste – Butterfly | Deezer Sessions, Pariswww.youtube.com
Batiste transfixed the crowd with this heartwarming song of childhood. Almost a lullaby, it’s incantatory. There’s a repeated set of triplets – Oh-oh-oh, whoa-whoa-whoa, oh-oh-oh . . . that Batiste urged the audience to sing together, saying:
“Everybody put your lights in the air. It represents the soul light.”
All around the Beacon Theatre people’s phone lights flickered as they sang along.
“Light that’s been with you since you were a child – Since the day you were born. You can never-ever lose it. All of us have it.”
“We can win, we can win, we can win, we can win.”
“Now you see I composed this melody, this healing melody . . . And the more you sing it with friends and family and complete strangers – The more the healing properties take effect – So sing with me this lullaby, this butterfly-healing-melody – first composed for my beautiful wife, Suleika.”
And, as the audience continued singing, Batiste was joined onstage at the Beacon Theatre by Suleika Jaouad, the author of the New York Times Best Seller Between Two Kingdoms – a chronicle of survivorship (Penguin Random House 2021).
Diagnosed with a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia in 2011, Jaouad was given only a 35% chance of surviving. She survived and has written and spoken extensively about these medical challenges. At the end of 2021, Jaouad announced the recurrence of her cancer.
Batiste and Jaouad have been a couple for a decade, but they officially tied the knot in February of 2022 a day before she underwent a second bone marrow transplant.
In the recent Netflix documentary American Symphony, a doctor advises Jaouad that although she’s technically in remission, chemotherapy might have to continue for the rest of her life.
American Symphony | Official Trailer | Netflixwww.youtube.com
As the audience sang to the couple, showering them with love, There were tears, laughter, joy, and smiles. This was no sentimental wallowing – Batiste achieves what he’s set out to do: encouraging people to seek peace and happiness.
Batiste is worth the attention he’s receiving – as anyone who saw him at the Beacon last night will attest. For the better part of the two-and-a-half-hour show, Batiste was playing and singing – dancing wild and free. Over the course of the evening, he demonstrated his mastery of the piano, melodica, drums, synth, and more.
Truth to tell, when you take an outstanding composer, voice, band, and a packed-out, loving audience then meld it with Batiste’s positive message about the power of humankind to effect change, you leave the venue with the feeling you can change the world.
And who knows? Maybe you can.
Want to catch Jon Batiste in the act? The singer will make stops in Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Toronto, New Haven, New York, Dallas, and more, on the 23-date run of shows.
Head to Ticketmaster, but be quick about it – many shows are sold out!
And be sure to catch “American Symphony” on Netflix
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Honor Molloy
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