NYS Music 202​0

Tag: Jon Batiste

  • Watch the new trailer for the upcoming Pixar Movie “Soul”

    Pixar this weekend debuted an inspirational new trailer for their upcoming movie, Soul.

    The first trailer depicted the soul of the musician Joe Garner, voiced by Jamie Foxx, struggling to find himself in ‘The Great Before,’ a place where souls gain personality traits before they are born into the world.

    The new trailer depicts Joe as a middle school band teacher, sharing his passion for music that he finds everywhere in his neighborhood in New York City.

    Soul will arrive in movie theaters in November 2020.

    “Music moves people,” says Joe, “Music is life, you just need to know where to look.”

    Written and directed by Pete Docter, who co-wrote notable movies like Up, Inside Out and Monsters, Inc., Soul centers around Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), who gets a chance to perform at a famous jazz club, but instead falls into a sinkhole, where his soul leaves his body. He must then has to find his way back to his body, with the help of 22, a soul voiced by Tina Fey.

    Soul promotes passion and to go for what you love. In Joe’s case, it is his love for music.

    Although the score for the film was composed by Oscar winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, both trailers feature neo-soul musician Cody Chesnutt with the song, “Parting Ways,” and pop rock band AJR with the song, “Overture.”

    This marks Pixar’s twenty-third film and will release in theaters on November 20 of this year.

    When Soul is released, it will be accompanied by Burrow, from the Pixar SparkShorts program. The official description of Burrow says:

    In Disney and Pixar’s new short film Burrow, a young rabbit embarks on a journey to dig the burrow of her dreams, despite not having a clue what she’s doing. Rather than reveal to her neighbors her imperfections, she digs herself deeper and deeper into trouble. After hitting (bed)rock bottom, she learns there is no shame in asking for help. Directed by Madeline Sharafian and produced by Mike Capbarat as part of Pixar’s SparkShorts program, Burrow opens in theaters on Nov. 20, 2020, in front of Disney and Pixar’s Soul.

    burrow

  • Jon Batiste, Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Pedrito Martinez Headlining “Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Stay Home Sessions”

    Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Absolutely Live Entertainment and Caffè Lena have announced the first ever “Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Stay Home Sessions” to take place June 26 -28 at 8 p.m. est. The series will feature pre produced videos from national artists along with live performances on Caffè Lena‘s stage from local favorites. Each session will be hosted through Caffè Lena’s “Stay Home Sessions” Youtube channel. “Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Stay Home Sessions” have replaced the 2020 Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival usually hosted at Saratoga Performing Arts Center that was cancelled due to health and safety concerns as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

    Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of  Saratoga Performing Arts Center gave this statement in a press release; “Freihofer’s has been a generous and steadfast supporter of Jazz Fest for the last 23 years. When presented with the possibility of creating a Virtual Jazz Fest, they didn’t miss a beat – pledging to support our efforts to bring great musicians and audience together despite the challenges of COVID-19.  Being able to create connection for jazz lovers – and support both national and local musicians, the latter performing from Caffe Lena — is a privilege.”

    The series is broken down into three themed nights. Kicking things off with a Cuban-themed evening will be previous headliner, Grammy nominated Pedrito Martinez with local artists Chuck Lamb and Jorge Gomez. Bringing the sounds of folk and jazz together will be husband and wife duo Bela Fleck (four time headliner and winner of 15 Grammy awards) & Abigail Washburn followed by Saratoga Spring’s own Skidmore Jazz Institute Alumni Trio. Closing out the weekend long event with some smooth sounds from Detroit will be Garland Nelson’s Reflections: A Motown Tribute Ensemble” opening for musician and television personality Jon Batiste.

    Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Stay Home Sessions Lineup:

    *all performances at 8 PM EST

    June 26

                Pedrito Martinez

                Chuck Lamb & Jorge Gomez

    June 27

                Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn

                Skidmore Jazz Institute Alumni Trio

    June 27

                Jon Batiste

                Garland Nelson’s “Reflections: A Motown Tribute Ensemble”

  • NYC Erupts in Music Led by Jon Batiste in Support of Black Lives Matter

    Jon Batiste, bandleader of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” led a musical march through NYC in support of the Black Lives Matter protests. The musical march took place on June 6 at 1PM in Union Square. The protest was peaceful and musical in nature. 

    Batiste is a notable jazz musician on top of being the bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Batiste has his band Stay Human and also serves as the Music Director of The Atlantic and the Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. He was nominated for “Saint James Infirmary Blues” in the Best American Roots Performance category in 2018 in the Grammy Awards.

    Jon Batiste advertised the event on his Twitter saying, “This is our response to the deep rooted systemic injustice we have yet to fix, a fact made abundantly clear by the public execution of another black person. This is a movement that exists because I believe the power of art & music is divine.”

    The musical march started at Union Square and went all the way to Washington Square Park. Batiste explained to CNN’s Bill Weir that this protest was bringing people together over a common outrage and that there are things people need to start doing. He said, “Look at what we are doing. We’re using music to bring people together of all races, of all genders, for Black lives. We have to get to protests and we have to get to voting. 100 million people did not vote in the last election. We’re battling three candidates Donald Trump, Joe Biden and apathy.”

    Watch the CNN videoclip bellow.

  • The Jazz Foundation of America Partners With Relix for Online Benefit Concert

    The Jazz Foundation of America has partnered with music publication Relix to produce an online concert on May 14 at 8 PM ET, dubbed #TheNewGig. Hosted by actor/producer Keegan-Michael Key, the lineup will include; Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Jon Batiste, Ivan Neville, Angelique Kidjo, Robert Cray, Stanley Jordan and more. Performances are expected to be new and will be pre-produced prior to air time. Drummer Steve Jordan will serve as the concert’s musical director.

    Relix publisher Peter Shapiro said in the press release: “We are honored to be collaborating with the Jazz Foundation of America to host #TheNewGig on Relix’s YouTube platform. Jazz and blues lie at the foundation of everything, really, and it is at the core of the music that we feature everyday on our websites, in our magazine, and on our social platforms. As part of giving back, it’s a privilege to host this very special event.

    In addition, the stream will feature performances by Herbie Hancock, Patti Smith, Brittany Howard and more who performed at the organization’s annual fundraiser ‘A Great Night in Harlem’. Many celebrities including Danny Glover, Bruce Willis and Mark Ruffin are set to make appearances during the music fundraiser. 

    Monies raised from the online concert will benefit the COVID-19 Musicians’ Emergency Fund. Established in March of this year, the emergency fund is geared towards helping musicians and their families affected by the pandemic by offering funding to cover basic living expenses. 

    “An entire community of artists who survive month-to-month have gone from standstill to freefall, financially speaking, but their music has continued to give us solace and comfort in quarantine,” said Joe Petrucelli, Executive Director of the JFA in the press release. “Support for #TheNewGig and the COVID-19 Musicians’ Emergency Fund offers them direct assistance and creates a sense of solidarity and hope in a time of despair and uncertainty.”

    To tune into the #TheNewGig, head to the Relix YouTube Channel on May 14 at 8 PM ET, with a 10 PM ET rebroadcast. For more information, visit Jazzfoundation.org.

    the jazz foundation of america