Hollywood Africans

Reviewed: 2018-10-31
Genre: Jazz
FCCs: none
Review: The mood is introspective. Even the most declarative tracks suggest vulnerability. Mr. Batiste combines well-known songs and original compositions to form a fairly seamless statement that nods toward legacies but sounds personal. Through his song choices and his performances, he implies a tension between pure joy and deep sadness. His original lyrics focus on love’s many manifestations. He is gentle and mannered; he’s no radical. Nonetheless, his new music represents an elegant meditation on complicated truths from a young black man thrust into stardom, still sorting out traditions of richness and pain.
If You Like: Henry Butler, Joe Williams, Johnny Hartman, Leonard Cohen
Track Review (favorites denoted by *): Joe Williams, Art Tatum, Leonard Cohen
**1/ Kenner Boogie (3:23) –rocking uptempo piano solo> quick stop
2/ What A Wonderful World (4:54) – piano starts> slow song> quick fade
*3/ Chopinesque (3:32) – slow piano solo builds in intensity & complexity> stop
4/ Saint James Infirmary Blues (4:19) – vocal starts> slow song> piano solo> fade
*5/ Nocturne No. 1 In D Minor (3:28) – midtempo piano solo> quick stop
*6/ The Very Thought Of You (4:35) – piano starts> slow song> piano solo to stop
7/ Green Hill Zone (2;54) – midtempo piano solo> strings kick in> fade
*8/ My Buddy (3:44) – piano starts> quirky midtempo song> piano solo> midtempo song> fade
*9/ Is It Over (5:38) – piano starts> slow song swells in volume & intensity then subsides, then swells again> quick fade
10/ Smile (1:12) – short slow piano solo
**11/ Don’t Stop (3:50) – piano starts> slow song swells in volume & intensity then subsides several times> slow fade