Multi-Grammy, Emmy, and Oscar winner Jon Batiste has announced his next three studio albums, starting with Black Mozart (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 2), due out June 19 on Decca Records US.
The release date intentionally lands on Juneteenth, underscoring the deeper cultural context of the album as Batiste reimagines the classical tradition through a Black American musical lens.
Marking the second installment in Batiste's solo piano series, the album continues to showcase the pianist's engagement with transformative composers from multiple eras using elements of spontaneous composition and improvisation.
Batiste also announced the upcoming release of Batiste Piano Series Volumes 3 and 4, focusing on Thelonious Monk: Monk Meditations and Monk Movements, both set for release on Verve Records on August 14.
Batiste's intent with the three albums was to "curate a musical conversation between Monk and Mozart with me at the piano, honoring them and contributing to their kindred legacies."
He adds, "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a pioneer who created his own musical language yet honored his predecessors, a master of symmetry and refiner of structure and form, seamlessly combined extreme melodic simplicity with intense complexity that challenged the conventions of his time but still had a universal appeal. … Like Thelonious Monk, for me a latter-day example of all the same qualities, Mozart was a meticulous metaphysician who created a special blend of logical mastery that still somehow defies explanation."
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com