Jon Batiste performs at the Grand Theatre at Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, Mumbai on Nov. 26, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of BookMyShow Live
Every once in a while a musician will perform for an evening and reach a majority of the audience throughout the show. Sadly, this is not a frequent occurrence.
However, Jon Batiste, in his largely solo performance, communicated and connected with a fairly large gathering and had them leave with smiles on their faces.
Batiste is a contemporary music phenomenon whose music encompasses the stretch of African American music of the last 125 years. His repertoire included music ranging from Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Ray Charles, while also bringing in the sounds of the blues, gospel music, R&B, soul and contemporary sounds — all delivered with an almost fireside-style by Batiste.
He did not forget his roots from his hometown of New Orleans as he performed “The Saints go Marching In” at the Grand Theatre in NMACC, Mumbai on Nov. 26, 2025.
For us, Jon Batiste is the continuation of a line of hugely talented, multi-faceted American musicians; he takes forward the tradition created by ‘Fats’ Waller, Ray Charles, Jon Hendricks and Stevie Wonder with the versatility of Quincy Jones thrown in. Batiste, like the others mentioned, makes a very strong statement which emphasizes that creative music from the 20th Century onwards has come from the African American musical spirit. Batiste is truly “from the tradition.”
Batiste’s playing on jazz pianist Thelonius Monk’s famous “Blue Monk” was sizzling, and he handled Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” with great respect and affection. Louis Armstrong’s universal anthem “It’s a Wonderful World” was given a touch of joy and “Lonely Avenue” made famous by Ray Charles was performed with the feel of desolation it is intended to convey. Batiste was updating some classics with the respect due to the music and to his ‘elders’.
Lest we get the impression that his range of music had just a blues-based approach, Batiste played from Beethoven as well. The classic lines from The Fifth Symphony were treated with due respect but a feeling of the blues was introduced as if to demonstrate what Beethoven would have done had the “blue note” been discovered in his time! It was serious and very creative.
Batiste played superbly on the piano but also played the melodica in performing a crowd pleaser from Bollywood. He played “Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan” from the 1950s Hindi film C.I.D., which in turn is inspired by the popular folk song “Clementine” from a hundred years before!
He also played the bass guitar as well as a harmonium on one occasion. While Batiste played a largely solo concert, he invited a sitar player, Megha Rawoot, in the second half of the concert and they converged on three numbers, notably on Beethoven’s “Fur Elise.”
Unlike other Indo-jazz fusion, this duo combined along melodic lines. Rawoot is a fine sitar player and her playing blended well with Jon’s approach to the songs they played together.
The concert, overall, was a beautiful experience for the vast majority of the audience. The level of musical communication between Jon Batiste and the varied audience was high; a real tribute to the versatility of the musician. It was a show that must have won Batiste a lot of fans in Mumbai.
If there was one hiccup in the evening’s entertainment, it was in the laxity with punctuality. The 8 pm show started at 8.30 and after a fairly long intermission, ended after 11 pm. Several people, either with a long commute or commitments, had to leave and miss parts of a truly memorable concert in Mumbai.
Jon Batiste’s Maestro solo piano India tour is produced and promoted by BookMyShow Live.
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