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All the odds seemed to be against what ultimately happened and success was teetering like Philippe Petit tiptoeing on the high wire as mother and daughter next to me disturbed Jon Batiste’s percussive piano rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Diving into their bags of potato chips like chubby kids doing cannonballs at the neighborhood pool and chomping on them with the ferocity of pit bulls, they were disturbing everybody so much that my wife started elbowing me. I had visions of speaking and becoming another victim of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. This nightmare dancing in my head, I thought all was lost. Then, a miracle happened! Batiste hypnotized them.
This happened at the Moss Center in 2014, before Jon Batiste appeared nightly with that same group, Stay Human, as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022.
Naturally, I was eager once again to write about Mr. Batiste, who is the guy responsible for bringing the storied Montreux Jazz Festival to Coconut Grove for its third incarnation.
I admire Mr. Batiste. His resume is stunning. He serves as the music director of The Atlantic and the Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. In 2020, he co-composed the score for the Pixar animated film Soul, for which he received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA Film Award (all shared with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). Batiste has garnered eight Grammy Awards from 25 nominations, including an Album of the Year win for We Are (2021). In 2023, Batiste was featured in the documentary film American Symphony, which records the process of Batiste composing his first symphony. In 2024, Batiste featured in the ensemble comedy-drama film Saturday Night, directed by Jason Reitman, playing the role of musician Billy Preston, as well as composing the film’s score. Maybe more admirable is this: his devotion to his beloved and equally brilliant wife Suleika Jaouad’s cancer struggles and treatment; she has been diagnosed three times with leukemia and seems to be in remission. They met as teenagers in band camp.
I worked for several summers in Switzerland way back when and attended the Jazz Festival in Montreux; it had genuinely mystical appeal, so when I shared this history and my Jon Batiste article with the Miami Montreux press contact, I was hoping for some response which I didn’t get. Maybe I could have mentioned that Mr. Batiste and I share the same November 11 birthday. That said, though, who am I to complain, can you check your email?
All this music will unfold at The Hangar in Coconut Grove with three days of performances from February 27 through March 1. There are two noteworthy events at Miami Beach Bandshell, particularly Makaya McCraven on Thursday February 26 before the weekend gathering in the Grove.
On Friday, February 27: Trombone Shorty & Jon Batiste Host The New Orleans Celebration featuring Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, channeling the raw with special guests PJ Morton, and Tank of Tank and the Bangas. Saturday, February 28 is older school: Nile Rodgers & CHIC, TOTO, and Adi Oasis take the stage. On Sunday, March 1, the festival closes with Bomba Estéreo, Elena Rose, and Pedrito Martinez, a little local rhythm.
