Jon Batiste Plays a Musical Encylopedia at Tanglewood

The former late-night bandleader has evolved into a virtuosic, consummate showman

Jul 04, 2024

Jon Batiste at Tanglewood (photo Hilary Scott/courtesy BSO)

(LENOX, Mass., June 28, 2024) – Jon Batiste demonstrated why he is one of America’s most popular performers in his concert at Tanglewood, where Batiste the virtuoso eclectic singer and musician combined forces with Batiste the consummate entertainer in a concert whose clear mission was to spread joy – the kind of joy that Batiste radiates like the sun radiates light.

Drawing upon his vast command of musical styles, including jazz, classical, soul, pop, and traditional vernacular tunes, Batiste tied it all together with his commitment to positivity and the community of music, which -- in the hands of the Grammy Award-winner and the former bandleader for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” – includes the audience.

THROUGHOUT THE SHOW, Batiste, bedecked in a suit with glittering sequins, inveigled the crowd to join in the music, whether it was to clap along, to sing along, or to stand up and shake it. And in his final successful attempt at drawing in the audience to the spectacle, Batiste and band left the confines of the stage and snaked their way through the aisles of the Shed, where the singer seemingly said hello to everyone and posed for photos, all while keeping the music going, which at this point was the popular tune “You Are My Sunshine.”

Batiste was a hyperkinetic performer, a veritable cheerleader, blending the vibes of an OG soul performer with the showmanship of a well-honed Vegas entertainer. For music fanatics, Batiste touched down all over the map. His stylistic range included upbeat dance music, gospel-infused inspirational music, jazz improvisation, indie-rock, New Orleans-based sounds and rhythms, and classical music. He even offered a jazzy, heavily improvised rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which he took out into ragtime territory.

Although Batiste boasts wide-ranging vocals, he stuck mostly to his tenor range, which did not stop him from introducing his spiritual-minded inspirational number, “Freedom,” with a deep growl borrowed from Muddy Waters on the phrase “Everything, everything’s gonna be all right,” lifted note-for-note from Waters’s intro to “Mannish Boy” at the legendary The Last Waltz concert. The number began dark and bluesy before kicking into dance territory, Batiste also making the case for himself as a man with the moves. Even while singing, he danced with the excitement and ease of some of the soul greats. It’s the cherry on top of the music, and certainly not required of a musical performer, but it added to the energetic vibe of the performance, heightening the glee quotient, prompting the question, “Is there anything this man can’t do?”

BATISTE DISPLAYED HIS instrumental talents on a wealth of instruments, including grand piano, electric keyboards, saxophone, melodica, drums, and acoustic and electric guitars. On “Freedom,” he played what looked like a blue Fender Telecaster. He was at his most virtuosic on piano, where he found ways to variously blend sounds derived from New Orleans keyboardists Professor Longhair and Fats Domino, Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, and Paul McCartney, offering a lovely rendition of the Beatles’ tune “Blackbird.”

There were definite hints of the music, styles, and approaches of Prince, Stevie Wonder, classic Southern soul, Chuck Berry, and Lionel Richie. He variously quoted musical passages by Suzanne Vega (“Tom’s Diner”) and, I am told, Taylor Swift, among others.

About two-thirds of the way through his concert, Batiste paused to introduce legendary jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette, best known for his work with the likes of Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, and Chick Corea. DeJohnette took over one of the two drum sets onstage and offered a solo dedicated to Motown, joined Batiste for a melodica duet, and finished out the concert as a modest member of the band.

BATISTE MIXED HIS OWN SONGS, including “Cry” and “Butterfly,” with standard fare such as “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It (Clap Your Hands).” There was no difference between high and low in this case. The bottom line and most important value seemed to be “that’s entertainment.” To paraphrase McCartney, “What’s wrong with that?”

Well, some (or, maybe just one critic) may have been left wondering where Batiste really fit into all this. What was his musical center? What were his innovations – while the styles were readily recognizable, what made it all “Jon Batiste music”? Is there any characteristic about his music that would pass the blindfold test, wherein a listener could easily identify his sound based on some musical trademark or signature?

Perhaps Batiste has not gotten there yet. Perhaps it’s a moot point. Perhaps Batiste, despite his contemporary presentation, is an old-style entertainer, albeit one with tremendous talent, almost more than he knows what to do with. If that’s the case, well, we should all have such problems.

Everything Is Broken

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