Beethoven Blues: Keeping My Bum in Its Seat
Originally published in The Fiddlehead
Working from home, I sometimes struggle to start my day’s work. But when I hear the alternating notes that open “Für Elise – Batiste,” I am lulled into productivity. Any expectation I first had, however, is soon shattered by Jon Batiste’s explosion into a blues riff. Beethoven’s iconic composition bookends Batiste’s 2024 album Beethoven Blues, an 11-track “pure piano” work in which the New Orleans-born, Juilliard-trained Batiste breaks musical barriers. The gifted artist, who served as band leader and musical director of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022, modulates tempos, seamlessly moving from faithful renditions of classical compositions to infusing them with jazz and blues. When the indelible melody of “Für Elise” returns, it’s easy to think the record is about to end—or that it has restarted. Instead, Batiste is just settling into his 15-minute “Für Elise – Reverie.” In his deft hands, Beethoven’s original feels both familiar and fresh, forward yet traditional.
The mix of the familiar and the unexpected makes Beethoven Blues the perfect album to kickstart my workday or return to when I need a boost of motivation. Among a few original compositions inspired by Beethoven is the beautiful and evocative “American Symphony Theme.” Unlike the others, it’s unrelated to Beethoven and was featured in the 2023 documentary about Batiste’s experience composing a symphony while his wife, writer Suleika Jaouad, underwent cancer treatment.
It’s not easy for me to find music that keeps me focused while working. Being drawn to lyric-driven songs, I find the words of others distract me from forming my own. And there’s only so much I can take of coffee shop jazz playlists. Batiste’s superb arrangements and inspired playing on Beethoven Blues stimulates me intellectually and keeps my body moving just enough to buoy my energy, making it easier for me to stay at my desk. Nowhere is this truer than in “Waldstein Wobble”— one of my favorite tracks on the album. Beethoven’s original composition “Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53,” known as the “Waldstein,” is dynamic, with rhythmic patterns shifting between bursts of chaotic forward momentum followed by relatively calm periods. Batiste’s reimagination of this sonata pays homage to Beethoven’s work while imbuing it with a boogie-woogie groove. I can’t help but move from side to side in my chair as I dance—effectively wobbling—while ecstatically typing away. For those who’ve seen Batiste perform, you know he exudes unabashed joy, and that joy is infectious. Beethoven Blues helps me do what’s most important and sometimes most challenging for a writer: stay focused and keep my bum in my seat.
Nancy Dutra 