By Raymond Fuller
From WCCS
The new album by Jon Batiste, band leader for the Late Show, is one of the best things that I have heard in the last few weeks. There's just one thing about it, you really have to listen to it. Passive listening just won't work on this album.
The best aspect of this album is the amazing way that the music interplays and interlays with each other. It truly sounds like an orchestra. It's not just the incredibly impressive playing but how the instruments mix together to form such a powerful and memorable impact. This album mixes jazz, blues, classic rock, and so much more to make something that seems to have a deep heritage but at the same time is incredibly new. It's the best modern sound of the big band.
There is only one problem with this album. You have to sit down and listen to it. You can't really do anything else.
The strongest part of the album is not Batiste's voice, it is strong but it's not enough to carry the album by itself. The greatest strength to this album is the instrumental aspects, and if you aren't listening to it while you sit down then you sadly miss it. If you're on the move, if you can't listen intensively, if you don't focus, then I found that the music oddly sounds mediocre. The subtle aspects you can appreciate when you sit and listen. All of the wonderful aspects disappear. They're gone, and the album seems like nothing special.
But the album is still great. Truly, when I sat down and listened to it I couldn't think of a better album that I had listened to in the past few weeks. If you have the time take it to listen to this music. It shows how modern music can still have the impact of a full orchestra while sounding totally modern. But remember, really listen in.
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