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Jon Batiste’s Beethoven Blues transforms classical works into unique interpretations of blues and gospel

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Jon Batiste, Beethoven, Beethoven Blues, theGrio.com

NEW YORK (AP) – When he won a Grammy Jon Batiste he was a toddler of, say, 9 or 10, moving between musical worlds – through the day he participated in local piano competitions and then “performed in nightclubs in the heart of New Orleans.”

Free from the rigidity of the genre, but additionally committed to exploring it, his tastes intertwined. He found himself transforming canonized classical works into blues or gospel songs, injecting them with a style-independent spirituality became famous. On November 15, Batiste will release his first album of solo piano pieces, a group of similar compositions.

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Entitled “Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1),” the 11-song album finds Batiste in a way collaborating with Beethoven, transforming the German pianist’s immediately recognizable works into something seamless that spans musical stories. It begins with the lead single “Für Elise-Batiste” with a straightforward intro, known all over the world as one of the primary pieces of music that beginners learn on the piano, then transforms the song into a full of life blues.

“My private practice has always been about honoring, of course, but also demystifying the mythology associated with these composers,” he told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of Wednesday’s album announcement.

The album was created through a process called “spontaneous composition”, which he says is a lost art in classical music. It’s improvisation; Batiste sits on the piano and interpolates Beethoven’s masterpieces to make them his own.

“The approach is to think about what the approach would be if we were both talking to Beethoven, but also if Beethoven himself was here today, sitting at the piano?” he explained. “And combining, you know, my approach to artistry and creativity with my imagined approach to how a contemporary Beethoven would approach these works.”

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He said there may be a divide in popular understanding of music, where “pristine, preserved and European” genres are seen as more beneficial than “something black, sweaty and improvised.” This album, like most of his work, destroys assumptions.

Contrary to what many might think, Batiste stated that Beethoven’s rhythms were African. “On a basic technical level, he does what African musical ingenuity delivered to the world, which is to play two and three meters at the identical time, almost on a regular basis. He plays in two different time signatures without delay, almost exclusively,” he said.

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“When you hear a drum circle, you know, the African diasporic tradition of playing together in time, you hear a lot of different time signatures playing at the same time,” he continued. “Overall, it combines the entire practice of classical and symphonic music with a deeply African rhythmic practice, making it refined.”

“Beethoven Blues” honors this complexity. “I am deeply repelled by classism and the cultural system we have created that demeans some and elevates others. And ultimately, what appeals to me the most is how excellence transcends race,” he said.

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Given their spontaneous nature, when these songs are performed live, they are going to never sound exactly like they do on record and no two sets can be the identical. “If you came and saw me perform these works 10 times in a row, you would hear not only a new version of Beethoven, but also a completely new Beethoven concerto,” he said.

“Beethoven Blues” is the primary in a series of pianos – what number of will there be, in what timeframe and what’s going to they appear like? Well, he keeps his options open.

“The themes of the piano series will be based on, you know, what is current to me at this point in my development, what I am exploring in terms of my artistry. It could be another series based on a composer,” he said.

“Or it could be something else entirely.”

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com

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Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (TIPS)” is now the longest -working Hot Country Song No. 1 by one artist – Happy Black History Month

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Shabozey, The Virginia Country Sensation, whose song “A Bar Song (TIPS)” has turn into an inevitable pop breakdown, now has one other album so as to add to its list of achievements. His mentioned single is now The longest leading songs on hot country number 1 By one artist who is strong at the age of 35 weeks, the series that began in May 2024. The song replaces “Body Like a Back Road” by Hunta Sam to the currently lonely title of the artist.

This last achievement of Shaboosey (born Collins Obinna Chibueze) adds Star (and currently 2025) to the great singer. In addition to the passage towards a record 50 weeks on the list of Country’s principal singles (the album is currently led by the song Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line “Mater To Be”), Shaboozey had a record record of 19 weeks first on the first place on the Billboard Hot 100 and solo with 27 weeks on the 27 weeks on the list of 27 weeks on Radio Songs Songs. I believe it may be safely said that Shaboozey had “one of them” by way of the hit single.

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And because in 2024 no discussion about country music was accomplished without Beyoncé in the conversation, “A Bar Song (TIPS)” denied the queen “Texas Hold ’em” Queen Bey at the Hot Country Songs summit, mentioning for the first time in history that two black artists held this place in weeks.

Very few artists in history have been successful from one single managed by Shaboosey, but it surely is not a miracle. After appearing on many albums in “Cowboy Carter” Beyoncé, which won the award “Album of the Year” during this yr’s Grammy Awards, Shaboozey released his third album (but as an artist with successful single), “Where I where, not how I’m good”, which landed in the first five Billboard 200 albums Number 2 on the billboard us Chart.

After a yr he had, who knows what’s going to occur next to Shabozey, but one thing is certain, his future looks very clear. Oh my good sir!

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Grief, Growth and Haitian Konda: Singer-Songwriter Fridayy reveals the layer of its identity in its latest album

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Today, the producer and artist Friday released their second album, “I am good on some days, some days are not.” This deeply personal album examines a series of topics, from like to faith and even regret of losing a loved one – especially his father. Emotions related to this regret resound through songs akin to “Proud of You”, “some days I’m good, I’m not” and “Without you.”

Although the vocalist of “God do” DJ Khaleda was born and raised in Philadelphia, Friday proudly bears the Haitian heritage of his family.

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“My parents come from Haiti, but I was born in Philadelphia. So everything I got from my Haitian culture comes from my parents and my family who always listened to Haitian music, “he shared the fifth interview before releasing the album.

The Baryton singer remembers how the music was first presented in the church by his father, who insisted that he and his siblings play an instrument – a reality with which many Haitans could refer from childhood. Since the release of his first studio album, Fridayy has described his musical style as a combination of R&B, Gospel, Hip-Hop and Afrobeats. But because of this latest project, he introduces a brand new layer to his music music: Haitian Konpa.

Friday, which was previously Woven fragments of Haitian Creole (or Kréyol) in your workit concerns this heritage together with your own Herring “Need You” Which translates into “needs you” in English. With the participation of the popular Haitan artist Jaé DWET FILLE – whom Honpa hit “4 camp“Platinum in France and a viral on tiktok – two easily mix English, Kreol and French, giving the listeners the taste of modern konpa.

Compass (or Compa) This is the music of the world’s first free black republic. The rhythmically full species of the island attracts the influence of jazz, soul and merengue and comprises brass instruments, akin to trumpet, saxophone and trombone, layered above the rhythm of the iconic Haiti barrel drum, “Tanbou”. Although this species has been recorded many types with the integration of modern technology from the very starting almost 70 years ago, the Appa stays by nature Haitan.

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“Haiti is a country that has about 60 different rhythms. It is a very rich musical culture, “said Fabrice Rouuzier, a Haitan pianist and producer WXPN. “Kloty drew from all this. This makes the park from the Golden Era – from the 1960s to the early 1980s – it really makes it a lasting species. And this is a composition that never loses its taste, and is inseparably haitan. You can’t say that he is borrowed from any nation. He has his own identity in a way that cannot be found in today’s music. “

Over the years, Haitian Konpa inspired many species, including “Zouk”, a well-liked species in French Western India, which incorporates islands akin to Marinique, Guadeloupe and many others. Similarly, the influence of Haitan Bads of the Konpa might be heard in contemporary French Afro-Pop songs from the most significant artists akin to Tayc, Dadju AND Aya Nakamura. While Haitian Musical Industry has achieved their very own success, many fans are still waiting for the Klota to achieve the global crossover seen by Afrobeats in recent years.

Only time will show whether the Friday record can be the one who inspires other artists to look at the contagious hits of the konpa. But one thing is definite – this edition appears to be the victory of the Haitian community. At a time when the Haitians around the world are battling great violence, corruption and system failure, harassing the place where their hearts call the home, the decision of the Friday to honor his heritage and present the wealthy musical culture of Haiti, never is a robust reminder of the popular Creolaian expression: “Ayiti PAP JANM PERI”, which implies Haiti.

Among the painful headlines and material from the current state of Haiti, artists akin to Friday prove that the spirit of Haiti lives for generations of her diaspora. Until Friday, from one other Haitian-American who works, in order that her ancestors are proud-I’m ,.

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Haniyah Philogene is a Haitian-American multimedia storyteller and lifestyle and entertainment author who includes all things of culture. He sets out with passion for digital media to search out latest ways of telling and sharing stories.

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RHIANNON GIDDENS-MUSIC Singer cancels the Kennedy Center program, citing the takeover of Trump

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The award -winning singer Rhiannon Giddens became the latest artist who dismissed the performance at Kennedy Center, who was under the leadership, since President Donald Trump released the leadership of the center and was elected chairman of the Trust Council.

Trump’s takeover is a component of its wide campaign against the culture of “Woke”.

“I decided to cancel my program at Kennedy Center on May 11, 2025 and move it to the hymn,” she wrote in social media, referring to the separate place of Washington. “The Kennedy Center program was reserved long before the current administration decided to take over this two -sided institution.”

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Giddens is an eclectic performer of Roots music known for his co -founder Karolina Chocolate Drops and such cooperation with Francesco Turrisi, like winning the Grammy Award “call me home”. In 2022, she helped write the Pulitzer Opera “Omar” award. He can also be the recipient of the Macarthur “Genius” grant.

Actor Issa Rae, writer Louise Penny and the Low Cut Connie rock band also canceled the planned events of Kennedy Center. The singer and writer of the lyrics Victoria Clark continued her program on February 15, but on the stage she wore the “Anti Trump Af” shirt.

Supported by government money and personal donations and attraction of hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, Kennedy Center is a fancy with a height of 100 feet with a concert hall, opera and theater, in addition to a lecture hall, meeting spaces and a “thousand -year stage”, which was a celebration to free shows.

Until Trump of their first term presidents routinely participated in the award ceremony, even in the presence of artists who didn’t agree with them politically.

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