Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware - S15 Ep 19: Jon Batiste

Episode Date: June 28, 2023

This week we have a musician, singer, songwriter, composer, TV star and political campaigner - there is nothing he cannot do - it’s Jon Batiste! He’s won Grammys, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and even an Oscar, and now he’s popped round to mine for a Middle Eastern Mezze inspired brunch. A New Orleans native, music & food have always been a huge part of Jon’s life, and he told us all about his love of Red Beans & Rice, Po Boy Sandwiches, Crawfish Boils and Pepperoni Pizza with a dollop of honey. His beautiful piano playing at the end of the meal is definitely not to be missed, thank you for being the most wonderful guest Jon, you’re welcome back for more houmous anytime you’re in London! Jon’s new album World Music Radio is released on the 18th August and is available to pre-order now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to Table Mares. I'm Jessie Ware and it is schvitzing. It's a lovely sunny day in your conservatory darling. It 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?

I'd look like a dick interviewing somebody in sunglasses. I might wear mine. We can look like the Blues Brothers. Put hats on darling. 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 tell you when I told you about him. Alright. Last year in April, April, the Grammys. Yeah. He won it.

He won everything. I 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. We're asking 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. Can we call him a mensch?

Who 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 otolenghi'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 um i don't want to upset you but i can see your bra and i don't think you 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 zug seasoning on. What is zug? It's like cumin and different spices.

Where did you get it? 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 with herbs but this is a dry version just because I was being lazy and I was doing the Ocado 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 bit 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 myself I've had it for ages and I never use my pestle and mortar. I felt quite pleased with myself. Oh, when did you get that? I've had it for ages and I never use a pestle and mortar. Oh, I need one.

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 it's all kind of fresh, light, dippy. There 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. It'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. Blessing your house, Jess. I love it. What a house. 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 yeah 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 security, I was like, oh, I'm going to 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 saw the same flight attendants on the way. 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. lagged? I said, wow. But then they came and said, hey, good to see you. And it's like, oh, wow. So it is the same people. Were they good flight attendants? Yes, they were nice. Okay, 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. Yeah. So I love that personally.

But 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. I didn't know whether to call him Trombone or Shorty. Do you know what I mean? What did you call him? 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 and such a gentleman and he really looked after her when she was in New Orleans which was so 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, obviously as a musician, but as a human being, he's an incredible person. We were together yesterday. Oh. We'll say if Jessie Ware sends her a garb. Is he short? I will.

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 shot. Oh, sweet. It was taller than him. 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, isn't it? Yeah, and it's just, you walk and it's just, it's the best place on Earth. And the food. 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? I 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, yeah.

Let's talk about... The beans. Yeah, beans. The beans, that's 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. And then I ate a lot of, you know, po' boy sandwiches, gumbo, etouffee. 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. John, you say. You know, it's a hero.

If you, if you eat. Like a Subway or something. A baguette. I mean, it's an elevated Subway. I mean, it's, we shouldn't really say this. So what's the bread like? Is the bread crusty on the outside or soft? Soft.

It's a specific type of bread, actually, that you have to have. It'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. Fried shrimp. Do you go for that?

I like the fried oysters, but I'm particularly into the shrimp because 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 the golf shrimp. Yeah, pretty good prawns around there. Down the Mississippi.

Into the Gulf. Oh, I didn't realize the Mississippi was that near. Down the Mississippi. Into the gold. Oh, I didn't realize the Mississippi was up there. Oh, yeah. A bit stupid, really. He entertains, educates, enlightens us. We love it. 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 some corn you might have some cabbage and then you got your spices you know whether you tabasco your old bay all these things you just dip the crawfish in there it's the best thing in the whole wide world put your potatoes in the boil you hook it up i've had that in seattle. 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, it's like one of those tribes in New Orleans. My dad is a musician. He's, you know, 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. And my mother comes from eight, so big New Orleans families. And 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 because it's… I'm going to behave myself, John, because, yeah. Families.

Yes, it is. It's very special, isn't it, Mom? Yeah. Do you love this? This is great. You're very tall. Look at that. How tall are you?

I'm 6'1". Oh, you seem taller. I've 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. I don't 29? Yes. That's quite unusual. It's very unusual. I 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 this 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. Right. 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 popper shot.

That's the new thing that I'm into also. Oh, what's a popper shot? You know the popper 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. And it's a miniature hoop.

You just shoot. 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 okay until i was about 18 i was actually a late bloomer in terms of oh we think you're in a really really good 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, and 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. The 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. 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. necessarily think about it like that but she always has the right instinct and um when i was about 11 or 12 she 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 what did you like to play i just like to play video game themes. Okay. Video game themes? 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. Wow.

What 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, yeah. 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 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. Right. The same. Being like your family. My family and also being around folks like Troy,

Tramon 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. 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. Right. 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 so who did you live with when you were 17 in New York or did your parents go with you no I lived I lived alone I moved to New York at a young age I was in Juilliard studying but I was also you went to Juilliard I was at Juilliard and studying, but I was also just... Oh, you went to Juilliard. I was at Juilliard, and it was cool. But it was a cool experience, but it really was...

It was more about getting to New York and trying to find a way to be amongst the scene of music that... 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. I 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 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,

that was the first time I saw snow. And that kind of is a microcosm of... Was that hard for you? I walked through the city in my favorite pair of Converse All-Stars, which had holes in them. They were broken down Converse Chuck Taylors. And 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 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, yeah, just a whole lot of stuff that didn't fit the mold of a lot of other people who were at Juilliard. 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 he would ever try and fit in. Yeah, couldn't do it. Cool. Would you like it? You like it?

I think that's good. Jesse. Jesse 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 Julliard would accept that you were different

and other people just would have been, wow, this guy knows what he's doing. He'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. taken that sometimes are not impactful in the ways that they intend to be. 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 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. Was it diverse when you went there 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 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. 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. I 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 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? Or were you kind of led to it through the family? I'm interested to see whether it's just, it's part of your DNA. You can just see, like you live, you breathe, you feel, you hear everything. But do you think that that was passed down to you by like 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. Okay. 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. Were you a choir boy at church? No. 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 chant. Yeah. Did you have a piano at home? Chants, Gregorian chant. Yeah, right. Did you have a piano at home? Oh, yeah.

It's quite nice, the sound, though. Yeah, this fire. Yeah. The 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

because it's rousing and trying to bring people together. Yeah. You got the sound. Ooh, this is fire. Wow. Yeah. Whoa. I'm going to get some more of that.

Okay. That is music to my ears, John. Now, 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 I've got an appetizer, a main, and a dessert. Goodness. Woo! Gloryland.

Last supper. Would be? Red beans and rice. Red beans. Whose recipe? Your mum's? Definitely. Okay.

Any shrimp involved here? Not this one. Oh, wow oh wow straight away just the red beans yeah i would be very nice i like that i just like that's my favorite i like that dessert no we haven't got a main yet would that just be the main or that would that be the main 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 land. It is very delicious, Jess. 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 la mode with ice cream. Lenny's favourite saying.

Yeah, he loves 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 with ice cream.

But I love a la mode. 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.

And I played it all the time for Jessie. And I said, you've got to listen. It'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, 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 oh just of my own and then associated with a few things but not that kind of um 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.

I'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. 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 Subways 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 the different, there's New York pizza for sure. Is it different? It's different, pizza for sure is it different it's different what is it it's better why is it thin or thick well it's the water isn't it that makes it different right it's thin new york pizza has like a certain texture it's thin but sturdy yes yes strong so it's crispy is it crispy 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 a classic pepperoni. Yeah, me too. Pepperoni is a classic. I love pepperoni, and sometimes I'll be adventurous and put black olives. Is that adventurous, darling? I 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.

Oh, 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 mum's garden. It's called Dinner for 100. And they do the best pizza pizza but they do it with um they do in do you you know the spicy sausage with hot honey and feta or goat's cheese and it is it's delicious so i'm so with you on the the sweet and the spice okay hot honey yeah yeah you know what you can make your own hot honey put a bit of chili in the honey and just let it... There you go. Sorted.

Bish bash 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. Like 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 favorite sushi in new york what's your favorite sushi filling negi eel i like it john i feel like we could go out and eat and do well we're gonna go crazy this hummus is killing you're wiping me out it's proper great you got it can i get another uh yeah come on john is it john i think one of us read that after the very tragic you know george floyd when he was

killed yes you led the protest in New York. Yes, that was. 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. That 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 it's meant for, a moment like this. How 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 to service. And that's the thing about that moment that's so special. It wasn't about the music. I wasn't playing. No. It was about leading.

It's about community. Exactly. We needed that. It was very heavy. But, you know, that made it lighter. 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 finally, I 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? Yeah, it's different. It's different. It's not the same. 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, the patterns of day-to-day life in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the patterns of everyday life, when something that massive happens to disrupt the flow, it can't go back. It just is different. 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 the 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, there wasn't outdoor eating. It was always inside air

condition. And then everyone was forced outside. And now that 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, feels 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 favorite haunt in...

Pizza. Pizza. You do pizza. We got to go to... Sorry, that was the door. Oh, that's the house. Got to go to Emily's. Emily's.

Is that in Brooklyn? Yeah. 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 pepperoni. You'll try it. For John. Okay, I'll try it for you. John, can I ask, do the Grammys have a celebration meal?

They have plenty. They have so many bloody parties, don't they? There's a lot of parties. Did your family come with you? I have my whole family. How many of them? My dad, mom, nephews, sister, grandparent. You're kidding. All 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. I don't know. But that was what I remember. I remember sitting. I had my piano set up.

And I looked out the window. And so I spent a lot of days. Because we were there for like a week. Oh, you had your piano in your hotel room? Yeah, I was just out the window. And so I spent a lot of days because we were there for like a week. Oh, you had your piano in your hotel room? Yeah, I was just in the air. Do you always have a piano? 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, it was nice. It was channeling. That was nice. How many pianos do you have? There was something in that. Ooh.

Oh, yeah. So, yeah, I just got this piano i got a c it's a c it's from the c is the old concert grand like seven foot six seven five seven four 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. D's are the new nine foot and they're powerful and beautiful, of course. powerful and beautiful, of course. And there's something about the sea that has that power,

but it has this quality. It's 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? Steinway.

I do Steinway. 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 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 Kawai keyboard. My entire creative youth was playing pianos at other people's houses or in practice rooms at school. Before I get you on 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 and sound something something that can bring you back to somewhere so kind of beautifully um a taste, a sound, a smell. It's so hard to focus with this hummus. I'm telling you.

I'm giving it to you, babes. It's yours. It's yours. How do you say it? Gishmak. Gishmak. 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. Do y'all have that? 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 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. She 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, 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. You got the taste. You got the smell. It was all of it. I love that. You got the sound in there. You 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 colours.

It's very important. Do your parents still live in Louisiana? Yes. Oh, yeah. So do you visit a lot? Mm-hmm. 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? You'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.

It's 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. It'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're 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 a lot of bad language a bit of cheeky language yeah definitely juvenile was something whoo he still is he's got a great vibe with um he's very very colorful the philosopher and poet that is Juvenile. So, 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, Baptiste is a French name. Yeah, it is.

You're going to go down 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. There's a lot of the Yoruba, Benin, and the Congo and Togo and 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. And 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 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. Yeah, 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. No, that's a deal. I get the deal i'm joking no that's a joke i'm joking uh let's do something that'd be really nice yes i'm i'm looking forward to it it's gonna be nice to come back and play i'm gonna make that tupperware of hummus you can take that because i can't have you having

another club sandwich today babe that's got a good vibe you're rolling our song will be called Firmness yeah so despite me thinking that our piano was a little rusty and out of shape, John couldn't resist having a little tinker. MUSIC PLAYS Wow.

Woo! Woo! This is a nice instrument. Oh, you've got a nice instrument. 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 play one of those chords. You got that feeling. Yeah. Woo! It got a good sound. Good. Hey!

Hey! Yeah! Come on! You got a vibe on. Okay, I'm going to keep this vibe. Darling, I 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 gorgeous gorgeous and really interesting and gorgeous the talent just coming out of every kind of poor of him is just unbelievable i feel really quite inadequate now i feel really quite ordinary don't't you? No, no. I felt very short. For sure. Lovely, lovely man. That'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 realise 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 Telegraph Hill just got a wonderful taste of music. I hope everyone can hear it on the hill. Maybe 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. Yeah, you're in for a treat.

It's got duets with Lana Del Rey, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Lil Wayne, Kenny G. Everyone's on there. But yeah, John, absolute star. Love him. We'll see you next week. Thank you.