Jon Batiste is nothing if not prolific.

He’s been nominated for 22 Grammys and taken home seven of them. He’s released more than 20 albums and EPs, as well as three collaborative albums with artists ranging from Regina Carter to Bill Laswell.

Batiste, who grew up in New Orleans, has been no less busy outside the studio. He’s appeared as himself in three seasons of HBO’s “Treme” series, composed the score for Spike Lee’s “Red Hook Summer,” and led the house band on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” for seven years. On Thursday, he’ll perform at The Met in Philadelphia.

Not a bad track record for an artist who’s still in his 30s.

Over the past year, Batiste has released two albums that could hardly be more different.

“Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1),” which was released last November, finds him bringing improvisation and rhythmic variation to the late composer’s work. The newly released “Big Money” meanwhile, incorporates gospel, soul, jazz and other Black American root genres into what he calls “The New Americana.”

In the following interview, Batiste talks about his “New Americana” concept, making albums in two weeks or less, and having a musical conversation with Ludwig Van Beethoven.

Q: After spending so much time on the highly conceptual 2023 album, “World Radio,” did your decision to record the intense, roots-based music of “Big Money” in just two weeks come as a relief, a challenge, or both?

Batiste: I like the immediacy of the music, and that it clearly captured the moment. Having that objective was very gratifying, because there was no question about when you’re done. It’s the moment, and once the moment has passed, that’s it. So it was exciting and exhilarating, and that was the objective.

Did you really expect to have it done in two weeks?

I didn’t think about how long it would take. I just wanted to work on the concept until it was right. But I didn’t give myself a lot of time. I didn’t want it to go on for months.

Artists like Joy Oladokun have criticized Nashville calling itself “Music City” while ignoring the slogan’s true roots in the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ spirituals and their performance for Queen Victoria. Is challenging misconceptions about America’s cultural foundations the core work of your “New Americana” project?

That’s part of it. It’s really us remembering the truth of music making and where it comes from, and the wisdom that is within. We’re in a time where there’s a lot of things that are politicized, but for me, it’s always been about how can we improve upon the human experience? And how do we make our life together in community better?

There’s always a real wisdom in our creative arts and in our culture. And there’s something very sacred in that space, when we go back and look at how those who came before us overcame so much to create beauty. A lot of times, joy comes from pain, and beauty comes from things that are not beautiful at the outset. So the “New Americana” is really a reflection on what was, and it is also hopefully a projection on what’s to come.

Your public persona is synonymous with joy and effusive positivity, yet your deepest recorded work is often rooted in blues, grief, and spiritual struggle. When it comes to live performances, how do you reconcile the private weight of that music with the need to be an outwardly radiating force of optimism for your audience?

It’s a balance. I’ve always wanted my shows to feel like a film that takes you through this epic, cinematic journey. And my performances often go through the range of human emotions: There are moments where you can hear a pin drop and the audience feels like it’s in a collective meditation or prayer, or there’s even a sense of just tears flowing. And then sometimes it’s tears of joy. People are dancing in the aisles, and we’ll have this release, this catharsis, when you have gone on that journey, those ups and downs and that emotion and you feel alive. And there’s nothing more joyous than feeling alive.

Last November saw the release of your “Beethoven Blues: An Homage to the Greats” album. Like “Big Money,” it was done in a short period of time. Did it take more than two weeks?

Actually, “Beethoven Blues” was done in less time. “Beethoven Blues” was captured in a couple of days, because it was a series of performances on the piano. I wanted to make sure that I could capture them in a way that you would if you were at a concert. But I was also thinking about how the blues element and the moments of improvisation would fit into the composition. So it took a form of recomposition that I had to do before those performances. So it was like that’s where the conversation happened, the conversation between Beethoven and I through his music.

Was he a nice guy?

He was a troubled guy, but I think he liked what I did.

Whether you’re performing for millions at the Super Bowl, or recording alone in your living room, the piano has been your instrument of choice, the one you always come back to. Given all the other instruments you play, what makes the piano stand above the rest?

Oh, my goodness. I mean, the piano is the orchestra at your fingertips — every single emotional tone and range of color, from the lowest base to the highest sopranos — and you can do it with both hands so it can function in both ranges simultaneously. It also is a percussion instrument, so it has a rhythmic attack to every note, as well as being stringed in the sound board. I think if you’re listening to an instrument by itself, without singing, the piano is the most universal instrument that can sustain your attention the longest.

Bill Forman is a freelance writer.

https://www.mcall.com/2025/10/30/concert-pick-singer-jon-batiste-at-the-met-in-philadelphia/