In May 2020, pianist and vocalist
Jon Batiste released the song "We Are" in support of the Black Lives Matter protests. A year later, he expanded that song into the vibrantly cross-pollinated full-length album
We Are. While jazz is always at the core of
Batiste's work, on
We Are he dips back into the genre-bending pop and R&B-influenced sound of his
Stay Human ensemble (whom he famously performs with on CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert). He's assisted by a bevy of production collaborators, including
Jahaan Sweet,
POMO, and
Ricky Reed. We also get appearances by
Mavis Staples and
Quincy Jones, as well as
Batiste's father,
Michael Batiste, and grandfather
David Gauthier, all of whom add layers of authenticity and biographical texture to the album. While universal in tone,
We Are is beautifully inspired by
Batiste's life growing up in New Orleans. The record opens with the title track, a passionate, gospel-accented anthem featuring the
St. Augustine Marching Band from his high school. We also get "Boyhood," a funky ode to the Big Easy that finds
Batiste and fellow New Orleans natives
PJ Morton and
Trombone Shorty celebrating how the families, food, and culture of their hometown shaped their lives.
Batiste sings, "I said I'm far from home but I always represent/I thought I had so much time, I don't know where it went/But now that I'm grown I know what it all meant/No place like New Orleans." Using the best of the past to build toward a better tomorrow is a stirring notion that pervades the album, both musically and thematically. He draws upon the vigorous grooves of New Orleans funk pioneers
the Meters with "Tell the Truth" and crafts a buoyant, psychedelic-soul vibe with the help of author
Zadie Smith on "Show Me the Way." One of the most vivid encapsulations of his old-meets-new sound on
We Are is "I Need You," an electric amalgam of boogie-woogie blues and vintage hip-hop attitude -- like an impossible combination of
Little Richard and
OutKast.
Batiste's genre-mashing reinforces the album's theme of intergenerational wisdom, and it's also wonderfully fun. ~ Matt Collar
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