Those of you who watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will recognize this blast of joy as its theme song. It's also an excellent piece of music that stands on its own -- no surprise, as Jon Batiste and his ensemble Stay Human are some of the best jazz musicians around, and "Humanism" is a concentrated dose of the exuberance and vibrancy that he brings to his work. Turn up the volume on this one, and let it put a spring in your step today.
Batiste's Late Show gig only scratches the surface of his incredible output. At this point he seems to have performed everywhere, with everyone -- from sublime sets at the Village Vanguard (check out the very excellent live albums Chronology of a Dream and Anatomy of Angels); to guest-hosting the radio show Live From Here and performing "The Very Thought of You" with Lake Street Dive's golden-voiced chanteuse Rachael Price; to jam sessions with a rising generation of hip-hop artists; to gorgeous unrehearsed performances with the Late Show's musical guests; to playing a blistering rock 'n' roll tribute with Gary Clark Jr. onstage at the Grammys; and on and on, forever and ever, amen.
The through-line in all this is his ethos of "social music" -- the conviction that music builds community and needs to be taken into the community, which has inspired him to collaborate across genres as well as literally lead his band into the streets and subways for spontaneous "love riot" concerts. Do check out any or all of these links; Batiste is a persuasive practitioner of music as bridge and connection, and that's surely something that's desperately needed today.
BONUS: A few more videos of note. Here are a couple of outstanding tracks from Stay Human's full-length album (also called Social Music):
Here's a track that, for all of Batiste's versatility, still took me by surprise. "Thunder," from the album Jazz is Now, taps into a vein of rage and raw defiance that I don't think he usually explores, and it's a startling jolt to the system:
And here's his recently posted NPR Tiny Desk concert, featuring all-new songs with an all-new band of badass women musicians.
I know, I know -- it's only supposed to be ONE song a day (and maybe a couple of extras at most), but I was feeling generous. Hope you enjoy them all!
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Listen to the Spotify playlist here.
Watch the YouTube playlist here.