Jon Batiste

0:03Hello and welcome to Tablemails. I'm Jessie Ware and it is a lovely sunny day in your conservatory darling. That has so much glass. It is like super hot. I'm not going to complain about the weather. No. But I may just look like I'm frowning at this guest that we have coming up. Why don't you put your sunglasses on? That would look like a dick interviewing somebody in sunglasses. I might wear mine. We can look like the Blues Brothers. Put hats on darling. We have John Baptiste coming on. Who you actually I think told me about mum. I'd tell you when I told you about him. Alright. Q. Last year in April.

0:37April, the Grammys. Yeah. He won it. He won everything. Had watched his video of I Need You and just adored it and bought the album. I've never looked back. Just love him. And he's got a new album coming out. I can't wait. Maybe he'll play the piano for us a bit. Oh my gosh. Should we ask him to? Yeah. I mean, he's like a prodigy. As producer Alice called him, an overachiever in all aspects. And an all-round good person. A mensch. campaigns for good things he led all the marches when George Floyd was killed he led a very peaceful march in New York very excited to have him on me too I'm on food duty he's coming over at 11 30 so I'd say it's a brunch situation so I decided to go with a Middle Eastern mezze brunch you know what I've got completely well I'm always into this I usually get my recipes from Instagram so I feel like I should shout this person out not that I know whether it's going to work or not yet but I believe in her she's called Nat's Nourishments and she's vegan she does like really easy meals and she put out this uh hummus with oyster mushroom shawarma which I've I've tried something similar at Rovi um Otelenghi's place one of my favorite restaurants in London so I just thought yeah I'll do that so I'm doing a hummus that I've made with shawarma oyster mushrooms it's just so easy you just get oh my god belazu you know belazu belazu all that their pastes oils spices are amazing and they've got the shawarma paste so i just mixed darling i don't want to upset you but i can see your bra and i don't think you'll want to see that we might want to but i think it would be better if you were done up thank you um so i'm doing shawarma style oyster mushrooms that sit on top i've got some pomegranates mint coriander then i had some aubergines in the fridge so I've just cut them up and put some zoog seasoning on what is zoog it's um like cumin and different spices um usually I make it with herbs but this is a dry version just because I was being lazy and I was doing the Okada shop so I just got it but yeah you can make it it's lots of green herbs and then cumin and chili I think but anyway I've just put a little of that on the aubergine and I've then made a coriander and mint and lemon and oil I used my pestle and mortar I felt quite oh when did you get that I've had it for ages and I never use a pestle and mortar yeah I never use them and to be honest it looks a bit crap but anyway it tastes nice and then we're having it with pizza we're having it with hopefully jammy eggs that I've done for seven minutes and diced cucumber and tomato with lemon juice and parsley salad so So it's all kind of fresh, light, dippy.

3:25There is no pudding because I didn't make one. You could have a banana or a peach if you wanted. Right, Jean-Baptiste coming up on Table Manners.

3:41It's a pleasure to have you. Oh, my goodness. In South London. And you come in with this beautiful energy, singing as you walk through the door. and blessing your house Jess I love it how are you I'm good I got my tea here yeah how's your trip in London going it's nice you know I want to spend more time in neighborhoods like this yeah right less of the cosmopolitan spaces more people oh I like people got more soul hasn't it are you have you been in lots of hotels recently yes hotels and and airports and you know you got to do that to get there but I want to be here yeah I understand I was recently doing I did about kind of five flights in about three days and I felt like I was going to get to know all the people at baggage reclaim and like the secure I was like oh I'm gonna I'm gonna know the air steward that's you know there because yeah you kind of it becomes this weird yes repetitive it's wild yeah i know i met the same flight attendants on my way going and coming back because i've been twice in the last week to london oh my gosh so i i saw the same flight attendants and then you think am i just really jet lagged i said wow but then they came and said hey good to see you again it's like oh wow so it is the same people were they good flight attendants yes Yes, they were nice.

5:11Okay, that's good because sometimes they aren't so good. Do you live in New York? Brooklyn, New York. Oh, wow. That's why you like a neighborhood. Yes. I was in Manhattan for a while. Then I decided that, you know, our family, we wanted to be, well, we first moved to the country outside of New York. How was that? That was nice. We still have that place, but then we wanted a home in the city, but not the city. And Brooklyn has become. It's gorgeous. Yes, it's beautiful. Brownstone and you have the space to see the sky. There's not buildings covering the sky. You can see it. So I love that personally.

5:53But where did you grow up? New Orleans. The greatest place on earth. Oh my goodness, it's a very special place. It is unbelievable. And I kind of always throw this around, but I know he's a friend of yours. The only person that I know from New Orleans is Trombone Shorty. Oh, my goodness. Who is a good friend of yours. Yes. We grew up together. That's my brother. So we were on this, I'm sure you've done it, Jules Holland. Yeah, Jules Holland. Oh, wow. So we both did Jules Holland one day and Trombone Shorty was on it. And I said, we met each other and everyone kind of gets to chat, don't they? And it's a nice energy.

6:28I didn't know whether to call him Trombone or Shorty. Do you know what I mean? What did you call me? I think I asked. I think he said, call me. I don't know what he said. Shorty? I don't know. Shorty, yeah. And I said, my sister's filming a film in New Orleans. Would you like to? He was like, let me show her around. I mean, it also helps that my sister is very beautiful. So definitely Trombone Shorty. He was very enthusiastic. Such a gentleman. Oh, my. Wonderful. And he really looked after her when she was in New Orleans, which was so. Oh, nice. He's a mensch. He's a good boy. He's absolutely incredible as a human being, obviously as a musician, but as a human being he's an incredible person.

7:08We were together yesterday. Oh, we'll say if Jesse West sends her a guard. Is he short? He was when he started. Oh, he was a small boy. Yes. And then he shot up. Yes. The trombone was taller than him. Oh. Oh, that's so sweet. That's the name, trombone, surely. Oh, sweet. It was taller than him. Yeah, I mean, it's just, and when I went to New Orleans, I've only played there once, but it's Frenchman Street. Yeah, and it's just you walk and it's just, it's the best place on earth. Mum, you should go. I've got to go because of the food. The food is. Because Randy Jackson, doesn't he come from down there?

7:44I thought he was. He's from Louisiana. Louisiana. So he told us all about the foods that he was, those beans that his mum used to make. Oh, yay, yay. Let's talk about, let's talk about. The beans. Yeah, the beans. Red beans, right? Yeah, he loved the beans. Can we talk about your childhood and growing up in New Orleans and what you were eating? Well, I was eating a lot of red beans and rice, funnily enough. It's my favorite food still to this day. I have a recipe that my mother taught me. And, you know, it's a beautiful thing to share. Beans, you can make a pot for the week. We do that in our house when we're home enough to do that.

8:26And then I ate a lot of, you know, po' boy sandwiches, gumbo, etouffets. And then many things that were typical, like stew or any form of typical food in America. But spicy. Exactly. You would find a way to... Spice it up. Yeah. What was your po' boy filling for your sandwich? What's a po' boy? It's kind of like a... John, you say. You know, it's a hero. If you eat a French bread. Like a subway or something. A baguette. I mean, it's an elevated subway. I mean, we shouldn't really say this. So what's the bread like? Is the bread crusty on the outside or soft? Soft. Soft. It's a specific type of bread, actually, that you have to have.

9:13It's French bread. And it's a very, very specific grade of bread. Then there's a way that you prep it. There's filling. There's different types of filling. There's oysters, fried oysters are one. Do you like, do you go for that? I like the fried oysters, but I'm particularly into the shrimp because it's, golf shrimp is just the best shrimp in the whole world. I'm biased. So where is the golf that they get it from? The Gulf of Mexico. Okay, so that's a golf shrimp. Down the Mississippi. Into the Gulf. Oh, I didn't realize the Mississippi. Yeah. Oh, yeah. A bit stupid, really. No, no. He entertains, educates, enlightens us.

9:55We love it, John. Are they big shrimp? I like this. Are they big or little shrimp? They're big. You've got the big old shrimp down there, New Orleans shrimp. It's beautiful. And, you know, you have prawns as well, but shrimp is really what we do. You see, we think of shrimp as little. Little. And prawns are big, or like crayfish. Well, yeah, we have crawfish boils all the time. Yeah. And you put your newspapers out and you boil some corn. You might have some cabbage and then you got your spices, you know, whether you Tabasco, you Old Bay, all these things. You just dip the crawfish in there. It's the best thing in the whole wide world.

10:37Put your potatoes in the boil, you hook it up. I've had that in Seattle. Wow. And they do the bucket and they throw it over and it's sometimes got sausage in it as well, hasn't it? Oh, yeah. And it's heavenly. It's gorgeous. It's nice. It's very beautiful to have people gather and do a crawfish boil. So how many in your family? Well, my family is like one of those tribes in New Orleans. My dad is a musician. He's seven boys in that side of the family. And then they have about 30 cousins of mine. When I was growing up, I was the youngest. So there was musicians all throughout my father's side of the family.

11:16And my mother comes from eight. so big New Orleans families and you know it was a beautiful thing growing up in music but more just in the culture of family, people respect I love being here with y 'all I'm going to behave myself John it's very special isn't it mom? we love this you're very tall look at that how tall are you? I'm 6 '1 oh you seem taller I've grown. It's weird. The thing that happened in my life is after turning 29, 30 years old, I grew about five inches. You're kidding me. I grew about, not five inches, maybe three inches taller. After you're 29? Yes. That's quite unusual. It's very unusual.

12:06I don't know what happened. And it was great. I had to get new clothes and stuff like that. But you played basketball. I did. We were national champions, believe it or not. I was in the AAU League. It's a beautiful part of my journey, and I realized right then and there that it was time to focus on music full time. It was very competitive. Really? Many of my teammates went to play professionally, and this is 15, 16 years old. You see the change happen where at 15, someone is 5 '5", and then at 16, they're 6 '5". Yeah. And you're like, oh. Okay. They don't even need to jump. They can just pop it in.

12:51Right. At that level, it was a great experience. And I still play every day that I can on the road. Do you? In Brooklyn, I play all the time. Have you got a hoop at home in your house? Oh, yeah. Oh, my goodness. In the dressing room, I'm always popping a shot. I have a pop a shot. That's the new thing that I'm into also. So what's a pop a shot? You know the pop a shot? No. Okay. So it's like an arcade where you have two hoops and you can have one person shooting on both hoops. Or you can have two people competing to see who makes the most baskets. Yeah. And it's a mini miniature hoop. You just shoot.

13:29Yeah. And it's like an arcade game that you would play. But you can have one at home. But I have one in the house. Oh, wow. So I'm always playing indoors. It's my excuse to be able to play indoors. Do you have a jukebox as well? I want to get a juke. I don't have a juke. I have a vinyl record player. Yeah. And I have lots of records. So that's kind of like my jukebox. Yeah. But I don't have a jukebox. When you were kind of 15, 16, you were playing basketball. Did you have to decide whether to become a musician or a basketball player? No. Was it a really strong pull? You know, I was into music and basketball equally, but I didn't think that either would necessarily be my profession.

14:10Okay. Until I was about 18. I was actually a late bloomer in terms of... We think you're an overachiever. You bloomed in every aspect of your life. You bloomed in every bloody... You're an overachiever, to be honest. I like to achieve things. It's great to achieve. Should I tell you what we're having? Yes. Okay. This is homemade hummus with shawarma-style oyster mushrooms. Oh, yeah. And with pomegranates and a bit of mint. And then I've got some pitas. This is some aubergine with a little bit of, oh, I'm going to get some serving spoons. But it's very much a dip and get ready. And then I've got some jammy boiled eggs.

14:53The jammy boiled egg. It's hopefully a bit runny in the middle. But let me get you some spoons. But it's very much like get stuck in, do your thing. Jam. But your mum must have wanted you to be a musician because she sent you off for classical piano lessons. Yes, yes. My mom is very, very spiritually gifted and prescient. She has this ability to see the future. Oh, wow. She doesn't necessarily think about it like that, but she always has the right instinct. And when I was about 11 or 12, she steered me toward the piano, and that was something that I thought was fun, but I wasn't so engaged with it until I was about 15, around the time we were playing basketball.

15:39What did you like to play? I just like to play video game themes. Okay. Themes for video games. You know, I was composing a bit, but mostly just video game themes. Please help yourself, John, and just have whatever you want. Loads, little, don't mind, doesn't matter. This is so nice. Wow.

16:06What I'm interested in is because you did the basketball first and of course your mum said that, you know, she had these... I had the hummus lot. She believed in your ability and all of that. Do you think having that less pressure in music made it even more kind of enjoyable and exciting because there wasn't... Like with the basketball, you were saying it was competitive. Well, the way that you play, you are... You're so talented. So with music, that could have been equally competitive for you. But it seems like you think of it in a different way. Yeah, it was a real blessing to have mentors in music.

16:38Right. The same. Being like your family. My family and also being around folks like Troy, Trombone Shorty, other folks my age who were brilliant. It was a communal way of playing. It wasn't like competing when we played music. And then we started to work. And by the time we started bands, you know, I started a band when I was 14 and we would play shows and it would just be a self-realization, self-expression mode of thought versus a competitive mode of thought. Yeah. So then by the time I was actually in New York, I was 17 and that's when it kind of turned into another thing. Right. But by then I had already developed my values and what I believed in.

17:29So who did you live with when you were 17 in New York? Or did your parents go with you? No, I lived alone. I moved to New York at a young age. Wow. I was in Juilliard studying, but I was also just... Oh, you went to Juilliard. I was at Juilliard and it was cool. But, you know, it was a cool experience, but it really was... It was more about getting to New York. trying to find a way to be amongst the scene of music that, you know, I was reading in the liner notes, D 'Angelo's Voodoo, Roy Hargrove made a bunch of records, Common, Erykah Badu. There's a lot of records that I was reading about that were made at Electric Lady.

18:13I was one of those kids who would read liner notes and study records to the point where I would know who was playing on them, who was the engineer, where were they recorded, and any commentary from the artists. I took all that to heart. All the things I loved pointed me to New York. And then I also, my mother, again, was like, you should audition for Juilliard. And I'd never heard of it. So both of those things kind of were pointing me. Okay, Juilliard, records I love, go to New York, see what will happen. And I moved there. It was not easy. but it was it was the right choice what was hard about it just that it was away from your family or that it's a very different world to where you grew up well you know first time I went to New York I was the first time I saw snow and that kind of is a microcosm of was that hard for you or did were you like I walked through the city in my favorite pair of converse all-stars which yeah Had holes in them that were broken down, Converse, Chuck Taylors.

19:20And my socks were lily pads by the time I first walked into the doors of Juilliard. And then I'm walking to the piano and I have a puddle of water behind me. And there's this culture shock. But also, conservatories are not really always welcoming to musicians or artists who don't fit the mold or the preconceived idea of what an artist should be. And I definitely was the kid walking around playing this thing in the halls, oversized T-shirts and Converse All-Stars and making noises. and my own wild ringtones on my phone. Just a lot of stuff that didn't fit, had a draw to my voice, my syntax wasn't.

20:20Yeah, just a whole lot of stuff that didn't fit the mold of a lot of other people who were at Juilliard at the time. Did you find that you found ways to fit the mold or did you just rebel against it? I went against it. I don't think you would have a client put in. Yeah, couldn't do it Cool Would you like You like it I think that's good Jessie Jessie John I love you If everyone could react To my hummus like that I'd tell you Wow Thank you But if they see talent Surely Joulard Would not would accept that you were different and other people just would have been, wow, this guy knows what he's doing.

21:12He's very talented. Well, I think that there's just a lot of well-intentioned, for the most part, actions taken that sometimes are not impactful in the ways that they intend to be. Okay. And then I also think that there's just a real shift that happens culturally as generations progress in the arts that, you know, now we're in a space where a lot of the things that I was doing would be celebrated. Yeah. And, you know, someone that comes into a space like that, there's more room for them, but still that it's not fully where it needs to be. And that's why now I'm on the board of trustees at Juilliard and I'm trying to change and doing all these things from the inside and creating space.

21:58Was it diverse when you went there or not, or very white. It was diverse. It was folks from all over the world. But in a very traditional sense. It's more the ideology. Yeah. And the space that performing arts holds in culture that needs to shift. Because it's a very diverse medium representationally. But the way that we think about it is archaic. Archaic. And that creates a certain set of behavioral, it's behavioral dogma that's attached to the archaic thinking around the arts. Would you like to set up your own music school? Yeah, I would be lying if I didn't say that one day I could definitely see myself running Juilliard or something else bigger.

22:55I enjoy teaching. I'm doing the thing right now, but eventually I want to pass on everything that I've got. And I still want to pass on as much as I can in the present. So why not? But yeah, do you, like you grew up with music, obviously, but do you think there's the perfect time to start playing an instrument? Whenever you feel like you can play it and you're not struggling to play it, I think it's a good time to start. But the other thing I would consider is what can you get from it that's not about getting better? What can you get from it that is just an intrinsic enjoyment? What's that? Did you feel like it was always part of you?

23:43Or were you kind of led to it through the family? I'm interested to see whether it's part of your DNA. You can just see. You live, you breathe, you feel, you hear, everything. But do you think that that was passed down to you through DNA or do you think it's from environment? You know, I think it was a mix. Yeah. I didn't feel like it was always so much a part of me. I felt like it was in the air and I was led to it because it was a part of the environment and it was in my family. But I didn't feel as connected to it early on as I did as time progressed. I've read about you. So I know you're Catholic.

24:25Were you a choir boy at church? No, nothing. So the church isn't associated with your music? I didn't play music in church. Okay. And the music in the church when I was growing up was very much like hymns and chants, Gregorian chants. Did you have a piano at home? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. It's quite nice, the sound, though. Yes, it's fire. Yeah. Sound is crazy. It's kind of closer to like synagogue. I mean, we've got some wild harmonies. Yeah, and like melodic things. Yeah, the music isn't, I mean, gospel music is completely different. Yeah. Because it's rousing and trying to bring people together. Yeah.

25:10Yeah. You got the sound. Ooh, this is fire. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Whoa. I'm going to get some more of that. Okay. That is music to my ears, John.

25:32Now, John, we ask everybody what their last supper would be, maybe before you're about to go to a desert island. Yeah, I think I know what it's going to be. And, like, you've got an appetiser, a main and a dessert. Oh, my goodness. Woo! Glory land. Last supper. Would be? Red beans and rice. Red beans. Whose recipe? Your mom's? Definitely. Okay. Any shrimp involved here? Mmm, not this one. Oh, wow. Straight away. Just the red beans. Yeah. That would be very nice. I like that. I just like that. It's my favorite. I like that. Dessert? No, we haven't got a main yet. Would that just be the main or would that be the appetizer?

26:20That was the main, Jesse. What's the appetizer? Oh, wow. This is a nice last supper. Yeah, come on. You're going on a desert island for six months. Oh, my goodness. Oh, man. Wow. This hummus. I love you. Oh, my gosh. Glory, man. It is very delicious, Jeff. Something light like that, really. Something that just could prepare the palate for the beans and rice, which would be a hearty portion. Maybe with some sort of sausage or some sort of protein as a part of the beans and rice, you see. And then you would really want to have a very classic dessert, like a blueberry pie a la mode. A la mode. With ice cream.

27:07Lenny's favorite strain. My favorite expression. Yeah, I love it. Because it means with ice cream. Which ice cream? Vanilla? You don't say that? No, we don't say that Wow, what do you say? We'll have ice cream on the side Yeah, but I love Alamode It sounds French I don't even know where it came from, to be honest But I remember seeing it on packages when I was a kid John, had you been nominated for other Grammys before Or was We Are? I mean, that's where I saw you on the Grammys And bought your album straight away and I played it when we were in America. Completely not. And I played it all the time for Jesse, and I said, you've got to listen.

27:46It's so wonderful. Wow, that's so beautiful. And I love the video of I Need You. Oh, yes. It's the best. You just kind of become all different. You're stepping into all different things, and you become, yeah. I enjoyed doing that one. It was fantastic video. Really? Really wonderful. Yeah, I had been nominated for three or four Grammys before that, or just of my own, and then associated with a few things, but not that kind of... Well, that swept the board, hey? That was a very different experience for me. It was just wonderful. Beautiful thing. You know, the thing about it is I really enjoy seeing people, families come together around my music.

28:26I've seen since the Grammys and before, that's really been a joy for me, seeing that, you know, hearing that you got the record. I want to hear about New York. obviously New Orleans has been the place where you grew up and you love. New York is obviously where you live now. And you also love. Yeah, and love. And you've kind of been in every nook and cranny of New York, it seems, like the subway's playing, you know, Brooklyn, all of that. What is, for you, the quintessential taste of New York? A lot of people say pizza. I don't agree necessarily. It's a different, there's New York pizza for sure.

29:04Is it different? It's different, yes. What is it? It's better. Why? Is it thin or thick? It's the water, isn't it, that makes it different, right? It's thin. Your pizza has like a certain texture. It's thin but sturdy. Mm-hmm. Yes, yes, strong. So it's crispy. Is it crispy? It holds well. Okay. It's a little crispy, not like super crispy. Okay. It's like the median of everything. Okay. And what are your toppings, your pizza toppings? Well, pepperoni is classic pepperoni. Pepperoni is the classic, you know. I love pepperoni and sometimes I'll be adventurous and put black olives. Is that adventurous, darling?

29:45I think. I don't like pizza that's too complicated. Okay. I think pizza is best when it's simple. Yeah. Well, you know whether it's a good pizza if they do it well simply, right? Oh. Yeah. Jalapenos. You like jalapenos? Of course you do. Yes. Pepperoni, jalapenos, and a little bit of honey. Honey? Oh, yes. Why? I'm so with you on this. Excuse me, why? I love, at the top of our road, we have these wonderful boys that started in lockdown. They started a pizza place out the front of their mom's garden. It's called Dinner for 100. And they do the best pizza, but they do it with, they do and do you?

30:27You know, like spicy sausage with hot honey and feta or goat's cheese. And it is delicious. So I'm so with you on the sweet and the spice. Hot honey. Yeah. You know what? You can make your own hot honey. Just a bit of chili in the honey and just let it. There you go. Sorted. Bosh, bosh, bosh. Boom. Boom. So you don't, but you don't think pizza epitomizes New York anymore? For me, it would be sushi. Okay. Wow. Sushi in New York. Do you love it? I love it. It's just like a, it's something about eating sushi in New York that makes you feel like, wow, I'm very adult. I'm adult. This is sophisticated.

31:11Like, even eating sushi in Japan, which is amazing. It's just something about it that that's symmetrical. Whereas in New York, it's like, wow, this is like a little. Yeah, it's on edge. It's like some other stuff. I'm eating sushi. What's your favourite sushi? In New York. What's your favourite sushi filling? Negi, eel. I like eel too. John, I feel like we could go out and eat and do well. We're going to go crazy. This hummus is killing. You're wiping me out. It's proper great. You got it. Can I get another? Yeah. Come on. Finish it. Finish it. John, is it? John, I think one of us read that after the very tragic, you know, George Floyd, when he was killed.

32:03Yes. You led the protest in New York. Yes. Was there a piano involved in that? No, I was playing this instrument. And I also had a very, very, very incredible thing happen where I had musicians who I brought into this peaceful march. and there was other musicians who I didn't know were coming who joined along. So at one point I didn't have to play. It was maybe 100 musicians in the street and then several thousands of people behind us. And when you have that mass of people, you just become the voice of it. So the music fueled the message, and that was really like, it moves me to think about it.

32:54That was really a very dark, it was a very dark time in New York. Like it was a very, very heavy time. There was the pandemic that was happening. Yeah, yeah. That was an added layer of, it was almost this visceral feeling of madness. It was about to pop off in this way that I felt like I needed to step in. You know, I'm a resident of Brooklyn and I'm a resident of New York, and I've been a part of what I consider to be the best cultural music, black music of America, jazz music, soul music, blues. I just felt like all these superpowers that the ancestors left us. this is what is meant for a moment like this.

33:49How do you put it to the best use? So that's why I did it. It wasn't premeditated. It was like a thing that happened that, I don't know, it just pulled me, pulled me to service. And that's the thing about that moment that's so special. It wasn't about the music. It wasn't, I wasn't playing. No. It was about leading. It was about community. Right, exactly. We needed that. It was very heavy. But, you know, that made it lighter. And now we hopefully can learn from all of the things that happened in that time and move forward in a better path. How does New York feel currently? Like, does it feel like it's finding it?

34:40I feel like it really was hit from the pandemic particularly. there was something like I feel like they're still trying to get back to that or do you think that it's found yes it's different yeah it's different it's not the same it it's never going to be the same similar to you think about any major deterrent from regular day-to-day life the patterns of day-to-day life in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina or the patterns of everyday life when something that massive happens to disrupt the flow can't go back it just is different yeah it feels like it's more vital than it was just after the pandemic in new york but it's not the same it's vital in a different way it's vital with um with a sense of what we've done yeah but in terms of eating you've created more of a cafe community because when we used to go to New York.

35:33There wasn't outdoor eating. It was always inside air condition. And then everyone was forced outside. And now that stayed. Yeah. That stayed. Yeah, I think that's a good thing. I think certain things are better, to be honest. I think that social life in New York, people seem, feel safer. Yeah. Let's talk about your Brooklyn spots that you would recommend. Like, Lenny and I are coming over to see you, to hang out, and you're going to take us to your favourite haunting? Pizza. Pizza. You do pizza. We've got to go to... Sorry, that's the door. Oh, that's the house. Got to go to Emily's. Emily's, is that in Brooklyn?

36:15Yeah. Okay. That's where we're going to get that pizza. Okay, fabulous. That's where we're going to get that jalapeno and hot honey. Fabulous. And pepperoni. Well, I'll leave that one to you. You don't like it? No. I'm going to have a baroni. You'll try it for John. Okay, I'll try it for you. John, can I ask, do the Grammys have a celebration meal? Mm. They have plenty. They have bloody, so many bloody parties, don't they? There's a lot of parties. Did your family come with you? Mm-hmm. I have my whole family. How many of them? My dad, mom, nephews, sister, grandparent. You're kidding. Mm-hmm.

36:54All there? Yep, yep. When you won it, was there a big cheer? Were they standing on the seats screaming? Yeah, they were right over there. It was a wonderful, wonderful thing to see them from the stage. And then was there a celebration meal after? Mm-hmm. Oh, yeah. I was talking to a lot of people. Yeah. So I didn't get to really eat it. Oh. But I was... You were there. It was there. Yeah. It was sitting there. Which hotel did you stay at? I think it might have been Caesar's Palace. Oh, wow. Do you know the hotel? I've never been. It was this hotel with this big old window. Well, maybe they all have big windows.

37:33I don't know. But that was what I remember. I remember sitting. I had my piano set up. And I looked out the window. That's why I spent a lot of days. Because we were there for like a week. Oh, you had your piano in your hotel? Yeah, I was just in the air. Do you bring your piano everywhere? And I was looking out the window. And I was playing. It was killing. That was a great. Yeah, that's nice. It was channeling. That was nice. How many pianos do you have? There was something in that. Ooh. Oh, oh, yeah. So, yeah, I just got this piano. I got a C. It's a C. It's from the C. The C is the old concert grand, like seven foot six, seven five, seven four.

38:18Oh, my gosh. It's like. So a little thing, a tiny little thing. It's a big piano with the heart of a lion. No, but the piano is very special to me because it's a very specific model grand that they don't create anymore. Ds are the new nine foot, and they're powerful and beautiful, of course. And there's something about the C that has that power, but it has this quality. it is so difficult to describe. It's like 1920s, 1930s, warm depth of tone. Oh, wow. I don't want you to play on my little thing now. It's going to feel really depressing after hearing about the big C. I would love to play. But who makes the big C?

39:11Steinway. I do the Steinways. But, you know, I didn't have a piano until I was about 18 or 19. I didn't own a piano. I didn't have a piano growing up. I had a keyboard. I learned how to play on a 61-key kawaii keyboard. My entire creative youth was playing pianos at other people's houses or in practice rooms at school. Before I get my out-of-tune piano, I've got a couple more questions for you, John. What is a nostalgic, I kind of feel, we usually ask for a taste, but I kind of feel like we could say taste, sound, something that can bring you back to somewhere so kind of beautifully, a taste, a sound, a smell.

40:06It's so hard to focus with this hummus. I'm telling you. I'm giving it to you, babes. It's yours. This is crazy. It's yours. How do you say it? Gshmak. I don't know that word I love that John's just taught me a Yiddish word Yes I like and still am brought back when I have a pancake-ish you know it's a pancake with bread, French toast Yeah, French toast yeah, yeah with the powdered sugar and bananas in the French toast Oh nice Either pancakes or bananas and French toast and bananas, one of the two will bring me back. Because that's something my sister and I would make when we were growing up. We would make it before we knew how to cook anything else.

40:59She knew how to do French fries in the oven and the French toast or the pancakes. And something about the way that it was made, I always, the smell of it. In our old house growing up, there was a blender. It's like a yellow blender. and my dad sometimes would make it too. He would put the pancake mix in a saucer or in a glass and the blender would be how he would mix it. And he would put the bananas in there as well. Oh, yeah. And he would blend all of the ingredients and the smell that it would create with that sound. Sweet smell. Yeah. Oh, my goodness. Well, you just did that all in one. You got the sound in there.

41:43You got the taste. You got the smell. It was all of it. I love that. And the color, that yellow, and we had these yellow cabinets. It was amazing. Color for a child is important. Just like the, you know about that. The color is like, you remember certain things connect to certain emotions with certain colors. It's very important. Do your parents still live in Louisiana? Yes. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So do you visit a lot? I was just down there before I was over here. I was down, down, down, down, down. I've loved meeting you. Oh, it's amazing meeting you as well. Can I just ask this last thing? Oh, what's up, though?

42:26You've got so many collaborations on this new album. Who's the person that you'd most like to collaborate with that you haven't quite achieved? I love collaboration. I like collaborating with everybody. I really do. I learn from everybody that I collaborate with. I just like the idea of making something with collective experiences culminating into a moment. Magic, isn't it? It's a very beautiful experience. I mean, man, I don't have one. There's not one person? No. Because I try and sort it out for you. What are you going to do, Len? I would just mention it. His record label's in the room with us right now, but sure.

43:05It's always whatever the last thing that I saw is. What was the last gig that you went to? I played a show and we were going to collaborate. You know Juvenile, the rapper? Oh, my God, yeah. So Juvenile. I don't. We've been talking about doing some stuff. Amazing. No, I don't know. I don't know if he would be your bag. Why, darling? I just don't know. Why? But give it a go. Maybe you're like the John collab. Is there a lot of bad language? A bit of cheeky language. Yeah, definitely. Juvenile was something. Woo, he still is. He's got a great vibe. He's very, very colorful. The philosopher and poet that is juvenile.

43:45So, yeah, Juvie. We're doing a concert actually together in Paris next week. Oh, wow. Billie Eilish and myself and Lenny Kravitz. Nice. Fabulous. I don't remember the date, but that's something on this trip that's happening. So maybe there'll be some surprise collaborations there that I can't say. And of course, Batiste is a French name. Yeah, it is. You're going to go damn well there. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So your ancestors must be French somewhere. Oh, yeah. I did the genealogy. There's this show that is in America where you go through your genealogy. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. And what are you? There's French there.

44:26There's a lot of the Yoruba, Benin, and the Congo and Togo and Africa. Okay, Africa. There was a gene that they found that was very specific to one region of the Louisiana Delta. Yeah. And they called it, I don't know if it's called this officially, but they called it the Louisiana Creole gene, which is a mix of Spanish, French, and African ancestry. And it's specific to like a 20-mile radius in Louisiana. And that's where you are from. So at some point, the French people and the Yoruba people and the people from the Caribbean in my lineage congregated to this area in Louisiana. 20 miles in radius.

45:18And that's also in there. So I find it to be really fascinating when you go back because it tells a story. It's not just, okay, these are incredible ethnicities to converge, but there's a story in how they converge. And I, you know, I find that stuff to be endlessly fascinating. John, thank you for coming here. Thank you for being such a joy. Wish you all the best with the run and the album. And just, yeah, I can't wait to watch you perform as well. When are you performing in London next? Or the UK? Are you doing a tour, run, any shows? Yeah, I want to do something. We got to do something. That'll be fun.

45:54Yeah, okay, sure. What do you want to do? I'll do whatever you want. Let's do it. Okay, great. I'm in. I'm in. I'm in done boom Decker get the deal I'm joking I'm joking I'm joking let's do something that'd be really nice yes I'm looking forward to it it's going to be nice to come back and play I'm going to make that Tupperware of Hummus you can take that because I can't have you having another club sandwich today babe

46:25that's got a good vibe you're rolling our song will be called Hummus

46:45So despite me thinking that our piano was a little rusty and out of shape, John couldn't resist having a little tinker.

47:08Woo!

47:19Woo! This is a nice instrument.

47:34Oh, you're doing nice. Yeah, it's good. Okay, fine. That's good. I'm going to learn this. You don't like it? You know what? See you in a year. I may pay one of those chords. I can'tase. I can't声.

48:21Yeah. Yeah. Woo! It got a good sound. Good. Hey.

48:44Hey. Yeah. Hey.

49:14ripin Yzers Yzers I've got a vibe on it. OK, I'm going to learn. You just find me that. Darlene,

49:30I feel like a force of nature just came through the front door. We were just blessed by John Baptiste. He just played the piano, which obviously we've just heard. I don't think I've ever met anybody quite like him. He really had a lot of energy, positive energy, I would say. Oh, it's a beautiful song. Gorgeous, gorgeous. And really interesting and... Gorgeous smile. The talent just coming out of every kind of pore of him is just unbelievable. I feel really quite inadequate now. Oh, darling. Don't feel inadequate. I feel really quite ordinary, don't you? No, no. I felt very short, for sure. Lovely, lovely man.

50:10That's a star that just walked into our house, I think. He's just wonderful. he's so charismatic so warm so generous quite unique and I don't think you realize that just from watching him perform that how just incredible he is person I just love I love him well I just knew as soon as I had watched him on the Grammys and I've heard that song and bought the album I've just loved it ever since I do feel like he really loved my hummus but I do feel like I need to shout out the woman that's hummus idea it was let's be honest nat's nourishment nat's nourishment where's nat from i don't know but babe like your hummus went down an absolute treat also shout out bold bean company because it was their chickpeas so also they're the best um right that is table manners now i feel like telegraph hill just got a wonderful taste of music i hope it everyone can hear it on the hill.

51:12Maybe we should start getting little plaques for people who've come to Telegraph Hill and experienced it. What would we have? Leopard print plaques on my house. John's new album, World Music Radio, is coming out on the 18th of August. Oh, you're in for a treat. You're in for a treat. It's got duets with Lana Del Rey, Leanne Pinnock, Lil Wayne, Kenny G. Everyone's on there. But yeah, John, absolute star. Love him. We'll see you next week. Thank you.