By Frank Alkyer | Published August 2025
This is something a critic usually saves for the end of a review, but let’s say right now, I love this freakin’ album. With Big Money, Jon Batiste hits the ears with a perfect little package of pure joy, fantastic wordplay, amazing musicianship and subtle soul all bundled in a stripped-down set of nine tunes that groove, bop and flow with perfection. If you’re looking for the jazz voice of Batiste, it’s in there somewhere, but this recording features the soul, blues and New Orleans grit of Batiste’s musical palette. The album delivers with a big, booty-shaking beat on tunes like “Big Money” — featuring the Womack Sisters (Sam Cooke’s granddaughters) and Nick Waterhouse killing it on guitar — and “Pinnacle.” Then, there’s the infectious pop of the opening tune, “Lean On My Love,” a beautiful duet with vocalist Andra Day. It features Batiste as an artist full of open-hearted love, as he shows on several tunes on the set, like the beautiful “Do It All Over Again.” As for that New Orleans grit, try “Petrichor,” an ode to the planet, where Batiste preaches about how “They’re burning the planet down/ No more second lining in the street,” but does it with Southern style that makes it go down easy and stick. But let’s get back to that big heart. There are two tunes on this recording that really let you inside. First, “Maybe,” with just Batiste and a piano, musing about what it all means with the only answer being the word “maybe” trailing off: “Maybe I’m just wasting my time/ Or maybe this is part of some strange design/ Maybe.” And then, there’s the song that brought a tear to this grizzled old writer’s eye. “Lonely Avenue” was written by New Orleans’ own Doc Pomus and recorded by Ray Charles back in 1958. Batiste reprises this chestnut in duet with the 81-year-old songwriting legend Randy Newman. It’s just Batiste and Newman squeezing this tune out at a gut-wrenchingly slow tempo. It’s late-night, after-hours heartbreak at its best. It’s important to note that this entire album was recorded in a week, with many tunes laid down in one take. “Lonely Avenue” was recorded on a handheld recorder at Newman’s piano. The process may be low key, but the results are high art. In addition to the music, also check out the videos for “Big Money,” “Lonely Avenue” and “Lean On My Love.” They’re terrific, too, with “Lean On My Love” shot at Victory Bible Church in Altadena, California, where the wildfires took down so much of that community.
