Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1) (CD Review)

 by Karl Nehring

Für Elise – Batiste; Symphony No. 5 Stomp; Moonlight Sonata Blues; Dusklight Movement; 7^th Symphony Elegy; American Symphony Theme; Ode to Joyful; 5^th Symphony in Congo Square; Waldstein Wobble; Life of Ludwig; Für Elise – Reverie. Jon Batiste, piano. Verve/Interscope 602475263807

 

Pianist and composer Jon Batiste ((b. 1986) is likely an unfamiliar figure to many fans of classical music; however, many others may well remember his 2015-2022 stint as bandleader on the popular television program, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. (American) football fans might recall that it was Batiste who performed the national anthem at Super Bowl LIX. Born into a musically talented Louisiana family, Batiste recounts in his liner notes that “I spent a good amount of my youth competing in local classical music competitions and gigging in night haunts in the heart of New Orleans. For years now since childhood I have made a practice of going to the piano and reimagining classical music as if it were my own. As a precocious youth I’d alternate between reimagining music and composing my own things. I was often drawn to ben in conversation with Beethoven’s music. Over the years, many have asked if I’d consider recording a pure piano album. Beethoven Blues is the first volume of solo piano recordings to be released over the coming years.”

 

Elsewhere in the booklet we find this interesting statement: “All songs written by Ludwig van Beethoven and interpolated by Jon Batiste except ‘American Symphony Theme’, ‘Dusklight Movement’, and ‘Life of Ludwig’ written by Jon Batiste and published by Kobalt Publishing.” The word “interpolated” is unexpected; however, the expected “interpreted” is not quite correct. Batiste says of his creative process “starts with Beethoven’s original compositions and in real time I am creating something completely original within and inspired by them. I didn’t think about what I would play before sitting at the piano. Within the same performance, I aim to render a stellar modern interpretation of Beethoven’s original works while simultaneously extending the composition, shaping into an entirely new composition that somehow maintains the distinctive elements of the original.” In other words, Batiste sits down at the piano and brings to Beethoven some of his own musical cultural heritage – blues, wobble, stomp, swing, shout – and interpolates into what Beethoven has handed down.

At first hearing, the music can sound as though Batiste is simply adding a layer of stylistic gloss to Beethoven – some trills and frills, some flourishes meant to prettify and trivialize Beethoven’s music. But upon further, more reflective listening, the depth of what Batiste is doing begins to reveal itself, especially in the final track Für Elise – Reverie, a 15-minute deep dive into that familiar melody in which Batiste takes us on a musical and emotional journey as we listen to the freely flowing musical  sounds that are such an evocative blend of Beethoven, Batiste, and our own musical imaginations. Once we have had our minds attuned to Batiste’s approach by this final piece on the album, we can the go back and enjoy the whole of Beethoven Blues for what it is: an informed, informative, and thoroughly entertaining take on Beethoven from a talented musician with a unique and refreshing perspective.