SOLO BATISTE…John Batiste: Monk Movements, Black Mozart, Monk Meditations

Possibly one of the greatest strengths of John Batiste is that you just can’t pin the guy down.

All of his albums are glorious and exciting kaleidoscopes, ranging from soul to gospel to hard bop and beyond. This time around, he’s released a trio of albums in a collection called Batiste Piano Series, Vol 1, 2 & 3. The albums show a new and deeper side of the artists, and it’s a side worth exposing to the sun.

Two of the albums are interpretations of the Thelonious Monk catalogue. Volume 1, Monk Movements, has Batiste covering pieces from the bebopper’s catalogue but giving them a more Chopinesque feel, with “In Walked Bud” and “Blue Monk” fit for a rich parlor outing. “Brilliant Corners” flows exquisitely and “Ugly Beauty” is a rich charmer, with Batiste’s touch brining out a lithe  lyricism usually not appreciated in Monk Material. Likewise, Monk Meditations, Volume 3 has Batiste being a bit more whimsical, playing games with the titles, so that “Eternity Around The Corner” is a different take on “Brilliant Corners”, “Midnight Movement” is a Beethovenesque delivery of “’Round Midnight” and “Enlightenment of Ruby” is a romantic read of “Ruby, My Dear”. Since bebop took a lot of its ideas from baroque music, this album actually makes a lot of sense, going back to the true roots of the genre.

Lastly, Black Mozart, Volume 2, has Batiste mixing modern piano ideas and classical ideas through the puree’ of Mozart tunes. Thus, “Twinkle” is a richly flowing read of the famed lullabye, “Processional” and “Molto in Cayo Hueso” are familiar Mozart themes and “Alla Turc Movement” will be familiar to fans of both Amadeus and Brubeck. Sometimes, these ideas can come off like novelty pieces, but the only novelty here is the concept of rich creativity.