Jon Batiste had the audience on their feet, dancing, clapping and singing along at the Cleveland Museum of Art Sunday night. He kicked off the first of two sold-out shows on the pipe organ in the museum’s Gartner Auditorium, weaving in a little “Ode to Joy.”
“The pipes are working very well,” he told the audience, dressed in a black and white bomber jacket, dark pants and black patent leather shoes.
Once behind the piano, he treated the audience to the world premiere of “Sometimes,” a gentle song which concluded with a powerful piano interlude that sounded like butterflies fluttering with increasing intensity. He followed that with Duke Ellington’s “Black and Tan Fantasy.”
“I love playing art music when you’re in the art museum,” he told the 683-seat crowd.
The hourlong performance featured his many musical talents, from piano to vocals to harpsichord to his trademark “harmonaboard,” a mix of a harmonica and keyboard. After playing a handful of songs supported with just bass and drums, a full band joined the stage. Batiste and company brought audience members out of their seats with “I'm from Kenner” and kept them there dancing to “I Need You.”
When Batiste put on his headphones, it signaled a move to his latest album, “World Music Radio,” with “Raindance.” From there, he broke into “You are my Sunshine,” “Oh When the Saints” and “Killing Me Softly,” parading up the aisles with his harmonaboard amongst the audience before concluding the show with the uplifting “Let God Lead.”
“We’re going to leave you with this healing melody,” he said. “Sing it and you will be healed."
Bringing Batiste to Cleveland
It was a “Hail Mary” pitch that brought the multiple Grammy-winning performer to Cleveland, according to Gabe Pollack, the museum’s director of performing arts.
Seeing an opening on Batiste’s touring calendar around performances in Detroit and Chicago, Pollack said he emailed an invitation to play an intimate show at the museum knowing it was a “long shot.”
Batiste agreed to a live-recorded show, which sold out immediately but left many disappointed. More than 20,000 fans tried to buy tickets, Pollack said.
Batiste’s team offered a second, 9:30 performance, which also sold out through a ticket lottery. Both sessions were recorded on Sunday.
“He's definitely hot right now,” Pollack said.
The Julliard graduate and New Orleans native is nominated for an Oscar for best original song for “It Never Went Away” in “American Symphony,” a documentary following his professional strides and personal struggles with his wife, Suleika Jaouad, fighting leukemia.
“He connects with people through his music but also provides a window into who he is as a person,” Pollack said.
