World Music Radio

by Jon Batiste

Overview

Pianist and singer Jon Batiste has always wanted to try and heal people with his music, bridging musical, cultural, and political divides. It was the modus operandi of his long-running Stay Human ensemble, who later brought their message of unity and love to a wider audience via their time as the house band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. It was also the underlying ethos at work on Batiste's Grammy-winning 2021 album We Are, a genre-crossing pop production informed by his deep jazz and New Orleans R&B roots. With 2023's World Music Radio, he again seeks to heal across boundaries, crafting a soul- and dance-infused album that feels like something Stevie Wonder might have made in the 1980s, but colored by his own distinctive blend of contemporary pop and jazz harmonies. Loosely conceptual, World Music Radio is designed to play as the broadcast of interstellar radio DJ Billy Bob Bo (voiced by Batiste), whose message of global unity bookends the album. Particularly Wonder-esque is the adult-contempo-ish "Calling Your Name," replete with a harmonica solo and fuzzy synth backgrounds. Equally evocative is the '70s roller disco vibe of "Call Now (504-305-8269)," which finds the pianist's father, Michael Batiste, laying down a funky bass line. Also lending their voices are a handful of guests, including JID, NewJeans, and Camilo, who jump on board for the pop-reggae number "Be Who You Are," and Jon Bellion and Nigerian rapper Fireboy DML, who bring an uplifting soulfulness to the Afro-beat-inflected "Drink Water." More high-profile collaborators pop up, including Lana Del Rey, who duets on the emotive album closer "Life Lesson," Lil Wayne on "Uneasy," and even saxophone icon Kenny G, who brings his smooth sound to a brief version of "Clair de Lune." Despite all of these guests and shifting stylistic moods, World Music Radio holds together nicely. The production has an organic, musically experimental vibe that feels like Batiste is really bridging his jazz and pop influences. There's also a sense that he is digging deeper emotionally after a tough few years. In 2021, his wife, writer Suleika Jaouad, battled a recurrence of leukemia that eventually led to her undergoing a bone marrow transplant. During her hospitalization, Batiste wrote her lullabies as a way of offering comfort. One of them, "Butterfly," a spare piano ballad in the Paul McCartney tradition, is included on World Music Radio and proves one of the most indelible songs on the album. There are other candid tracks, like the gospel-inflected "Wherever You Are" (which sounds like it was recorded live at church) and "White Space" (a lilting, impressionistic piano ballad where Batiste coos through a vocoder). It's in these intimate moments on World Music Radio, when Batiste sounds like he's jamming out at home or singing directly to a loved one, that you can truly feel that his desire to heal the world comes from a deeply personal place. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	08/18/2023
Label:	Interscope / Verve
UPC:	0602455882738
Rank:	3388

Tracks

1. Hello, Billy Bob
2. Raindance
3. Be Who You Are
4. Worship
5. My Heart
6. Drink Watger
7. Calling Your Name
8. Clair De Lune
9. Butterfly
10. 17th Ward Prelude
11. Uneasy
12. Call Now (504.305.8269)
13. Chassol
14. Boom for Real
15. Movement 18' (Heroes)
16. Master Power
17. Running Away
18. Goodbye, Billy Bob
19. White Space
20. Wherever You Are
21. Life Lesson

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jon Batiste   Primary Artist,Harmonium,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Sound Effects,Organ,Piano,Vocals,Clarinet,Melodica
Kenny G   Primary Artist,Saxophone,Featured Artist
Lana Del Rey   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Chassol   Primary Artist,Bass,Piano,Vocals,Fender Rhodes,Synthesizer Bass
Lil Wayne   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Featured Artist
Fireboy DML   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Native Soul   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals
NewJeans   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Jon Bellion   Primary Artist,Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Leigh-Anne Pinnock   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
JID   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Rita Payes   Primary Artist,Vocals,Trombone,Featured Artist
Camilo   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Michael Batiste   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Daniel Seeff   Bass
Mathieu Edouard   Drums
David Gauthier   Voices
Gabe Noel   Cello
Alvin Batiste   Vocals
Nick Waterhouse   Guitar (Electric)
Matthew Correia   Percussion
Pedrum Siadatian   Guitar (Electric)
Duke Ellington   Vocals
Shannon Powell   Drums
Gabe Witcher   Violin
Wayne Shorter   Vocals
Quincy Jones   Vocals
Dan Wilson   Piano,Vocals
Connor Gallaher   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Steel)
Pete Nappi   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Brian Lang   Double Bass
Rahm Silverglade   Keyboards
Justine Darcenne   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Nikki Grier   Vocals (Background)
Josh Adams   Drums
Christophe Chassol   Bass,Piano,Vocals,Synthesizer,Fender Rhodes
Taj Sapp   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Kyana Fanene   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Leigh-Anne   Featured Artist
Luca Stewart   Vocals (Background)
Pastor Drew   Voices,Voiceover
Mehrnam Rastegari   Strings,Kamanche
Nio Levon   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Jonathan Bellion   Vocals (Background)
Roget Chahayed   Keyboards
Taylor Dexter   Keyboards
Braxton Cook   Flute,Trumpet
Zach Dawes   Bass
Wesley Singerman   Guitar,Keyboards
TenRoc   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Kola Rai   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Brennan Gautier   Vocals (Background)
Brayla Cook   Vocals,Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Fabian Marasciullo   Vocal Mixing
Harold Lilly   Composer
Enrique Sanchez   Composer,Producer
Nasri Atweh   Composer
Josh Gudwin   Mixing
Gigi   Composer
Gregg White   Assistant Engineer,Assistant Mastering Engineer
Nick Cooper   Vocal Producer,Vocal Producer
Anthony Ferguson   Composer
Jordan Johnson   Composer
Justin Bieber   Composer
Huford Brown   Composer
Nikki Grier   Composer
Kenny G   Composer,Engineer,Recording
Julian Vasquez   Engineer,Recording
Chassol   Producer,Recording
Jon Batiste   Producer,Recording,Programming,Sound Design,Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Musical Producer
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Nick Waterhouse   Producer,Composer
Lana Del Rey   Composer
Jon Bellion   Composer,Producer,Programming,Vocal Producer
Chris Gehringer   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Jackie Mittoo   Composer
Gabe Witcher   Arranger,Recording Arranger
Greg Koller   Arranger,String Engineer
Leroy Sibbles   Composer
Robert Lyn   Composer
Nelson Ray   Producer
Zac Brown   Recording
Ray Nelson   Composer,Producer
"Deadly" Headley Bennett   Composer
Dan Wilson   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Manny Marroquin   Mixing
DJ Khalil   Producer,Programming
Dwayne Carter   Composer
Michael Pollack   Composer
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins   Composer
David Ozinga   Assistant Engineer
Pete Nappi   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Programming,Vocal Producer
Fitzroy Simpson   Composer
Rahm Silverglade   Composer,Producer,Additional Production
Nathaniel Warner   Composer,Vocal Producer
Destin Route   Composer
Andre Lindal   Composer
Kassa Overall   Producer,Drum Programming,Additional Production
Johnny Simpson   Composer,Producer
Kaleb Rollins   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Vocal Mixing,Vocal Engineer,Additional Production
Jahaan Sweet   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Programming
Laura Sisk   Mixing
Christophe Chassol   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Ken Oriole   Mixing,Engineer
Stefan Johnson   Composer
Sean Anderson   Composer
Anthony Vilchis   Mixing Assistant
Bobby Mota   Assistant Engineer,Assistant Mastering Engineer
Will Worden   Tape Realizations,Assistant Engineer
Jonathan Bellion   Composer,Programming
Leigh-Anne Pinnock   Composer
Ylva Dimberg   Composer
Ian Doerr   Engineer,Recording
John Arbuckle   Engineer
Roget Chahayed   Composer,Producer,Programming
Taylor Dexter   Composer,Programming
Braxton Cook   Composer,Producer,Programming
The Monsters & Strangerz   Producer
Zach Dawes   Producer
Marc Whitmore   Engineer,Recording
Khalil Abdul-Rahman   Composer
Zach Brown   Engineer
Chaz Sexton   Engineer,Recording
Wesley Singerman   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Programming
Nija Charles   Composer
Jacob Ferguson   Engineer,Recording
Rita Payes   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording
Taydex   Producer
Jason Cornet   Composer
TenRoc   Producer,Programming
Bryce Bordone   Mixing Assistant
Camilo Echeverry   Composer
Elijah Noll   Composer
Elijah Knoll   Composer
Zach Pereyra   Mixing Assistant
Adedamola Adefolahan   Composer
Evan Fulcher   Engineer
Trey Station   Mixing Assistant
Dave Ozinga   Assistant Engineer
Ryan Lynn   Producer