The first song that I remember hearing
Clarence Carter – ‘Strokin”
“I grew up in a small house on the east side of Kenner, Louisiana. I remember the yellow panels and the brown wood and the smell of the pancakes on the stove. And I remember my dad used to play this record on his vinyl player. It’s got a few risqué [lyrics] in there and he would always turn [the volume] down at those moments. But after a while, he knew I’d heard them, so he just would let it play [laughs].”
The first album I bought
Common – ‘Like Water For Chocolate’ / Michael Jackson – ‘Dangerous’ / Björk – ‘Vespertine’ / Erykah Badu – ‘Mama’s Gun’
“I used to go to Blockbuster Video. It was around the year 2000 and they had this big, old deep bin of used CDs in the middle of the store. I would just dig into the bin and see what I could find. These were the first four records that I ever purchased.”
The first gig I went to
Alvin Batiste at Medard H. Nelson Charter School in New Orleans, late 1990s
“Alvin’s my second cousin. At the time, I didn’t know we were related. I just knew we had the same last name. I actually ended up studying with him and all the other musicians on the stage. My early experience of music was studying avant garde jazz. People don’t know that about me.”
The song that reminds me of home
The Meters – ‘They All Ask’d For You’
“I didn’t know it was The Meters when I first heard the song. You know how when it’s Christmas season, you hear almost nothing but Christmas music everywhere you go. So, imagine growing up in New Orleans. Every year, when Mardi Gras season comes, you only hear carnival music everywhere you go – and there’s like 20 songs in rotation and this is one of them.”
The song I wish I’d written
Kendrick Lamar – ‘i’
“That song is probably in my most listened to songs of all time. I really love the approach to the production, you know, blending The Isley Brothers ‘That Lady’ into this sort of expression of self-love. And also, you know, the way that he exposes himself lyrically. His mental health struggles and things that he has dealt with sociologically and the trauma of generations and how we process that. And he does all these very complex things in a song that’s just a bop. It doesn’t require a whole lot of thinking to understand and feel and listen to it.”
The song I can’t get out of my head right now
Betty Carter – ‘Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most’
“The version from ‘Inside Betty Carter’, the album. Listen to that today. Take five minutes, put it on your headphones, cut out the light, lay on your comfortable couch or your bed and experience it.”
The song I can no longer listen to
Charles Aznavour – ‘La Bohème’
“If this was a record, I’d have played the grooves of this song. It’s actually a CD that the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, gave me. I was asked to do a performance at The White House and he was an honoured guest and we connected there. We exchanged information and he called and invited me to Paris to Fête De La Musique, to celebrate with them.”
The album that makes me want to dance
James Brown – ‘Live At The Apollo’
“That’s always gonna get you. It’s an elixir.”
The song that makes me cry
Joni Mitchell – ‘Shine’
“There’s many ways you could go. You got tears of sorrow. You can go wistful cry, you know, that kind of cry where it’s like perspective on life. You see the bigger picture and the grandeur of perspective and you cry. But I’m gonna go tears of joy for this answer. It’s my favourite Joni Mitchell song.”
The song I want played at my funeral
An unwritten Jon Batiste song
“Oh man, that’s a heavy question. You know what? I’m gonna compose one. And then you’ll have the opportunity to hear it at the appointed time.”
‘American Symphony’ is streaming on Netflix now