Jon Batiste has released his installment of Live At Electric Lady, a new series of live albums EPs from the iconic NYC studio and Spotify.
Made famous by Jimi Hendrix and classic sessions with Stevie Wonder, The Clash, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and many others, the legendary Electric Lady Studios has inspired the world’s greatest artists for five decades running. Participating artists in the new series were encouraged to play their own compositions as well as cover songs of artists connected to Electric Lady’s history.
For his Electric Lady session—recorded in a single day at the lower Manhattan studio—Jon Batiste recruited a band of jazz legends including Ron Carter on bass; both Gary Bartz and Kenny Garrett on sax; Giveton Gelin on trumpet; Sameer Gupta and Joe Saylor on tabla and drums; a full string and horn section; Batiste on vocals, piano synthesizers, guitars, and arrangements; and Matt Wong on arrangements; all engineered by William Garrett.
The eight-track set features a number of selections from Batiste’s recently released album, WE ARE, as well as a selection of notable covers. In addition to paying homage to another iconic studio with a run through The Beatles‘ Abbey Road number “Golden Slumbers”, Batiste worked through reimagined covers of Stevie Wonder‘s “Pastime Paradise” and Daft Punk‘s “Lose Yourself To Dance”, both of which can trace their roots back to Electric Lady.
Pulling elements from traditional jazz, world music, electronic music, contemporary R&B, and more, Batiste’s Live At Electric Lady set offers an exciting peek inside a famous room filled with world-class talent. As Batiste gushed in a post about the recording, “This is another lane for our era of music—global, spiritual, rooted, intricate, communal.”
Adds producer William Garrett of the process, “Jon understands and appreciates stretching sonic boundaries and the power that those choices hold in the conversation with the listener. Starting with ‘We Are’, Jon creates a different dynamic and a darker version than the original album cut. The track begins as if being played on an old Victrola and slowly expands into a psychedelic lo-fi jam. From there the EP expands from experimental to vintage sounds.”
Listen to Jon Batiste Live At Electric Lady in its entirety below via Spotify.
Jon Batiste – Live At Electric Lady – Full EP
Upcoming editions of the Live At Electric Lady series will feature Patti Smith, Japanese Breakfast, Dominic Fike, Faye Webster, Bleachers, and more.
Michele Santucci, Spotify’s Recorded Music Lead, says, “The opportunity to partner with an iconic studio like Electric Lady is an incredible way for Spotify to pave the way forward with new audio content & formats while also paying homage to a place that has a very special place in music history. There’s magic in the walls at Electric Lady, which we are aiming to capture and share with the world!”
For more on the Live At Electric Lady series, head here.
For a list of upcoming Jon Batiste tour dates, head here.
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