Black Mozart (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 2) (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Mozart/Batiste: Facile-Batiste; Alla Blues; Alla Turc Movement; Shine: Twinkle; Processional; Country Zart; Molto; Molto in Cayo Hueso; Gospel Andante. Jon Batiste, piano. Decca 199957881494

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. Back in early 2025, we reviewed Batiste’s Beethoven Blues (Verve/Interscope 602475263807), the first recording in which the New Orleans-rooted musician put his own spin on a classical composer (you can find that review here). In this new release, Batiste turns his attention to Mozart, and the results are even better. There seems to be something about the inherent tunefulness of Mozart’s music that gets Batiste’s improvisational juices flowing. He writes, “a key aspect of Mozart’s music of immense potency is how accessible and elementary it is – humble, singable melodies not overwritten – capturing the essence of childhood. There is an innocence to the sound that you can hear even without any understanding of the music… I found this music when I was a kid and some twenty years later I am still reimagining to extend the implications I see within it. I reimagined Mozart ‘black’ in the tradition of Mr., [Alvin] Batiste, imbuing it with influences from jazz, rags, stride, blues, stomps but still maintaining its core essence of modern classical music."

Listeners familiar with Mozart will hear Mozartean melodies – and no, they will not be twisted into unrecognizable strings of notes – played in joyfully blues- and jazz-influenced styles. The opening Facile Batiste offers a brief but happy take on a familiar theme from Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 16, while the next two tracks offer a couple of different takes on the familiar “Turkish March” theme. And yes, as you may have guessed, we get to hear some playful variations on the famous “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” music (which may be the most widely played Mozart piece ever that never gets him name-checked, alas). On Molto, we hear Batiste’s fairly straightforward take on familiar music from Symphony No. 40, setting us up for the next track, Molto in Cayo Hueso, where Batiste cuts loose and adds a Latin groove, taking Mozart to a beach on Key West. At more than seven minutes, it’s the highlight of the album. The closing track, Gospel Andante, finds Batiste putting a gospel spin on the piano part from Piano Concerto No. 21, known to many as the “Elvira Madigan” music, bringing the album to a peaceful close.

All in all, Black Mozart is a release that should appeal to a wide spectrum of listeners – fans of classical, jazz, soul, R&B should all find it appealing. Although I wish Batiste would have given us more extensive liner note thought about his approach to the music he chose to include, I have no quibble with the recording itself. Highly recommended.