Jon Batiste on his Musical Career

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So now, from the world of trade and other such issues to the uplifting power of music and last night’s Grammys. Thirty-nine — Alicia Keys drew raves for her tone as host, and there were some very, very special guests. The former First Lady Michelle Obama was brought onto the stage, in what turned into a celebration of love, unity and diversity. It’s a very welcome note for these times. Jazz musician Jon Batiste was there, nominated for the very first time himself – and you’ll know him best as band leader on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” And he has many strings in his bow, including an upcoming Broadway musical, which he talked about with our Walter Issacson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER ISSACSON: Jon Batiste, welcome to the show.

JON BATISTE, BANDLEADER, “THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT”: Yes, indeed.

ISSACSON: So your new album is called “Hollywood Africans.”

BATISTE: That’s right. That’s right.

ISSACSON: What does that mean?

BATISTE: Well, it’s a statement about the history of the music and where it came from – the history of our music in this country, particularly the blues, jazz, rock and roll, soul music, gospel; all the stuff that I’m playing on the recording. African-American entertainers and performers, these artists created this psalm that influenced the world. And no matter the amount of oppression or marginalization that they faced, it was divine; it had something in it that was meant to reach the world and heal people and bring people together. So it’s kind of framing the music that was created here, and also paying homage to them, while me being a link in that chain; takes it forward and reinvents it and exposes it to new people.

ISSACSON: But there seems to be an undercurrent in the album that to be – have a mainstream appeal, you got to make compromises for the audience.

BATISTE: Well, in that time, in particular, in the past in our country, it’s fraught with a lot of racial and social issues that barred people from having the – the freedom to be themselves on stage. You know, a lot of great performers had to wear a mask and not be who they were in the public. And they were these geniuses who wanted to say really, really deep, profound, complex things, and they wanted to be treated, or taught – they were taught to believe that they were lesser. And a lot of those people fought to really push beyond what was placed on them by society. So for me, I don’t have wear a mask now as much as a lot of the greats who I look up to – you know, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong – all of the greats that I’ve studied and – and really been moved by. And although, I still am in the spotlight and there are certain things that I do have to compromise on, I don’t have to do it nearly as much as them – and I really want to pay homage to them with this record, by – by – by sharing with people all of this music, because it’s our superpower. And I feel like, a lot of times, in our country, we forget that these are truly American ideals in this music that we can learn about togetherness and learn about integration and learn about how everything that we aspire to be, that’s written in our constitution, can actually be achieved and has been achieved a lot of times first in our music.

ISSACSON: Louis Armstrong grew up in New Orleans, like you did. New Orleans is a city of mass, but when you were growing up in New Orleans and you watched Louis Armstrong wearing his mask, doing that big smile, waiving the handkerchief, what did you think?

BATISTE: Well, honestly, I didn’t like Louis Armstrong at first; I thought he was Uncle Tommin’. But the thing is, you look behind that, under the history – you know, I’m a – I’m a kid at the time, maybe even earlier than a teenager – you know, 11 or 12, when I’m first exposed to Louis Armstrong. At a – in fact, the camp that we all went to at the time was the Louis Satchmo Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp. And you would go there and you would be exposed to the wide history that comes from New Orleans – and Louis Armstrong being the progenitor of many of the things that we still do today. But I – I didn’t really understand why he had to do that, because, you know, in the year 2000, people – people didn’t have to do that onstage; they didn’t have to go (inaudible) and wave and smile and do all that stuff. But if you studied the time and the context, he’s a genius of the highest order. And he has to do all of these things; and you still have the fabric of that in our culture today. Black performers still have to deal with certain things that are a part of our lineage, whether they know it or not. And that’s not just black – it’s not a race issue; it’s a cultural issue. And that’s something we still are facing and we look at the — the — the political climate of today and we look at all the things that we’re dealing with socially. And people trying to become “woke” and their consciousness is — is elevating. And — and these are things that have been a part of the fabric of our country and in our entertainment. And our entertainment feeds us. So if we want to deal with that, we have to address it.

ISSACSON: One of his great songs, Louis Armstrong sung that he made popular was “St. James Infirmary”. And you’ve reinterpreted for this new album and it’s being nominated for a Grammy. We’re all rooting for you for it. But what did you do with “St. James Infirmary” and maybe you can show us on your melodico.

BATISTE: Yes. Yes. So the album is very intimate to me at the piano for the most part. T Bone Burnett and I really went to a place that was the most raw, stripped down place that you could go to make an album. Cut all of the lights off and went into a church in New Orleans and for three days it was just me and the piano. T Bone wasn’t even in the room. I couldn’t even see him, it was dark. I just channeled all of the — the spirits of — I called them ancestors that I wanted to channel through this music. We read them — read that literature and — and I — I played them (ph) music and I just did one take of “St. James Infirmary”. I just — one take of most of the stuff but “St. James Infirmary” was really just a stream of consciousness. I kind of did the tempo slow like a dirge to create suspense. You know it’s like the feeling of — and my left hand is doing that and then over the top I’m singing, I went down to St. James Infirmary. And I saw — I saw my baby lying there. She was stretched out on a long white table, yes. So sweet, so calm, so fair.

ISSACSON: And you’re doing that and it seems to be showing the pain behind the joy of some of that music and of Louis Armstrong.

BATISTE: Well that’s what it’s all about. People all across the world are in pain these days and people all across the world need healing. And I wanted to great an album and a beacon in the culture that not only teaches us about our history and all of the great things that we’ve created but something for everybody across the world to listen to and meditate to and reflect to and lead them to a place of hope, not a place of despair.

ISSACSON: And one of the songs on the album that I think you wrote as an original song was supposed to move us forward to the optimism called “Don’t Stop.”

BATISTE: Yes. Yes.

(PLAYS MUSIC)

“Don’t stop dreaming. Don’t stop believing because you know that our time is coming up. So with all you’ve got, don’t stop.”

(ENDS MUSIC)

We are here for a short while and then when the creator says it’s time, we’re gone. And in this moment what do we want to do. How do we want to be remembered? What is our legacy? And what do we want to setup for the next generation so that they know better? You know when you know better, you do better. And that’s really what the song is talking about. If you’re in place where your humanity is challenged and today with all of the stuff online and Twitter and all over the news and all these things that just bombarding you with lifestyles to adopt and opinions to take on and all this stuff. It can be easy to feel that you can lose your humanity in all of that. And I’m just saying don’t stop dreaming, don’t stop believing, believe in the higher ideals of your humanity. Love, hope, joy, peace because you know that our time is coming up. We don’t have time to waste. So with all you’ve got, whatever you have left, don’t stop.

ISSACSON: You grew up in New Orleans. At age eight you’re playing with your family, the Batiste Brother’s Band.

BATISTE: Yes.

ISSACSON: Long musical tradition there. What did you learn from New Orleans that helps inform what you talk abut in terms of race and the need to get together?

BATISTE: New Orleans had a very unique history with Congo Square and the enslaved people, our people had the chance to really spread the culture and infuse the culture that they brought over in to the culture of what has become New Orleans. And you can see all of that and other cultures aligned and the confluence of all of these things has created a special place for a guy like me born in the ate `80s to come up and then still have red beans and rice every Monday and have music for everything. Music to dance to, music to sleep to, music to eat to, you got second line when somebody dies. All these different things that to me I thought were normal. I thought it was just how every part of the world was. And then once I started touring and going around and seeing different cultures and experiencing that stuff that is really important as an artist to see the world beyond your block and to understand human beings. I really was fortunate to have come up in New Orleans, because New Orleans is the place that celebrates the spirit, the human spirit.

ISSACSON: And you got mentored too by (inaudible) —

BATISTE: Well, yes.

ISSACSON: — up here in New York at Juilliard, right?

BATISTE: Well, I went to Juilliard for — I graduated high school early at (inaudible) and St. Aug (ph). I still have my class ring.

ISSACSON: St. Augustine High school.

BATISTE: Verbal knights.

ISSACSON: Yes.

BATISTE: So, I went from St. Aug and (inaudible). At 17, I moved here. And I went to school right over here at Juilliard. And I studied for two years and during the time that I was there, Winton was still coming in to the program. And when I was 17, my first he came in. And I had known him since I was a kid. And he was like you know you want to join us on the road with the septet? And I joined them on the road and we went to Mosaic and we performed. And then from there we kind of had a relationship. I still call him and talk to him about things that I’m working on. I’m actually working on my first large — by large assemble, I mean orchestra big band rhythm section choir and soloist. My first large assemble symphony. So, I’m going to do it at Juilliard where he’s not a running jazz program. And Danny and Wetzel is over there running the president of the school. It’s a good friend of ours. So, that’s going to be exciting.

ISSACSON: OK. How does being on the Late Show affect you, your music, your life?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, LATE SHOW HOST: John Batiste, “Safe Human” everybody. Right over there, give it up for the man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BATISTE: The Late Show, it’s a production in the sense that there’s a department for everything. Graphics, research, there’s a lighting team and the heater crew and everybody who’s in the band. We’re all working together every single day to create this show that is lead by Stephen and gives voice to a perspective in the culture. And everyday we look at the news and that’s what we’re speaking to. So, I find it to be — it’s fascinating for me to be a part of that, to be a part of that machine and to figure out how to do it better and better everyday. It’s like a craft. It’s different to anything that I’ve done, because you never really are given a second chance. It’s live almost. And sometimes we have done live shows. But you do it. And however it was, the next day is another one. It’s like a tissue box, endless. And I find that to be inspiring. There’s nothing like playing for people who are not only in the theater but everywhere at home.

ISSACSON: Do you send your afternoons working with Stephen Colbert, looking at the news, preparing for the shows and thinking of the commentary that you all want to do on the show?

BATISTE: I don’t do that.

ISSACSON: OK.

BATISTE: I typically unplug from the news when I’m not working on the show, because I find that I need balance. And it’s funny because I have never really been politically engaged to the degree that I am now.

ISSACSON: Is Stephen making you more politically engaged?

BATISTE: Well, I think the times are. You just have so much going on that you have to know what’s happening. There’s so many people who are suffering that I feel like it’s a part of – as a human being, you have to care. Right? You have to care. But also, just doing this show, I want to have an understanding of what’s happening, because that affects my craft; I want to be great. And we’re talking about what’s going on everyday, and I want to connect to that in a way that’s meaningful.

ISSACSON: “Hollywood Africans,” besides being the name of your new album is a painting by the great artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Tell me about the show that you are planning to do.

BATISTE: Yes, so it’s a Broadway show, so – a Broadway musical. And Basquiat’s estate, his family and everyone who was in charge of his work today, has signed off to green-light this product. And John Doyle, who was the director of “The Color Purple,” which recently won the Tony on Broadway, and many other great things – Sweeny Todd – he’s worked with Sondheim partner, in fact, is what he would call himself – is working as the director. And I’m writing the music and the lyric and the story arch. And it’s going to be – in fact, I don’t even know what it’s going to be but I would definitely say that it’s going to inspire people to want to create and want to find that – that – that creative resonance that’s within them, because everybody has it. And Jean-Michael Basquiat was a superstar, in terms of exploring who he was through his art and being vulnerable, at the same time, as he’s enigmatic; he was so many things at once. So he’s the subject; and how we explore that subject is something that we’re crafting right now for Broadway, which is going to – is going to be something that I – I’m having a really good time doing this. The music that I’ve come up with already is just – it’s beyond.

ISSACSON: You talked about Louis Armstrong being somebody of great joy. Is there a difference between joy and happiness?

BATISTE: Joy is something that comes from going through pain and coming out on the other side. Happiness is fleeting; happiness is something that you feel. It’s a rush; it’s almost like adrenaline, but then it goes. Joy doesn’t go. Louis Armstrong had a sense of joy that you can only have when you know something – you know something about yourself and your self-worth – and you understand something about the value of people and the human soul. And that’s really important, especially now, there’s so much that we devalue – with the mudslinging – with all of the things that we’re doing publically to each other. And I really find that joy, for me, comes in knowing that there’s something better – there’s something greater on the other side.

ISSACSON: So you’ve achieved that sense of joy in your life?

BATISTE: I’m trying.

ISSACSON: And you’re doing it partly by taking the song in which Louis Armstrong explores joy (ph), which is “What a Wonderful World,” and you reinterpret it for your new album. Can we end with that?

BATISTE: Yes, absolutely. Let me see.

(BATISTE SINGING “WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD”)

ISSACSON: Jon Batiste, I love you; thank you for being on.

BATISTE: Thank you, Walter. I love you, brother.

ISSACSON: Thanks a lot.