Jon Batiste, musician, jazz pianist, and composer, released his new album “BIG MONEY” on August 22nd, 2025. Here’s my official review as a long time fan of Jon Batiste.
For starters, a little background for anybody unfamiliar with Jon Batiste. Jon Batiste is an african-american composer, Juilliard graduate, jazz musician, former Late show band leader, and performer that is renowned for his expert musical knowledge and ability to break musical barriers and combine genres in new and interesting ways.
His new album doesn’t fall short of his style. Prior to the release of his new album, he released two teasers for his seventh studio album, “BIG MONEY” the title track and “LONELY AVENUE” featuring Randy Newman (You Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story). He’s consistently jumped-genres and has returned to roots music with varying styles ranging from what seems like farm songs on the track “PETROCHOL” and a more Sly Stone sound for the duet track “LEAN ON MY LOVE”. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Batiste says that his album is part of a “repatriation process” and “American history has oftentimes gone through this pattern of something being born and then it being transferred to anyone else other than Black folks, but how did this thing called rock & roll that was invented by a bunch of black sharecroppers and farmers in the South and then spearheaded by Little Richard and Fats Domino and Chuck Berry end up being [seen as] the result of the British Invasion? Rock & roll became our national music and became the face of our youth culture and national culture — and a white face at that — when, self-admittedly, they were playing songs and speaking to the ideas of these Black Americans.”
The music not only speaks to that of musical heritage but of capitalistic integrity. The title track (and first single) pokes fun at the idea of capitalism and potential AI usage in the modern day, reflected by the lyric “Might as well live for something you can feel/Might as well live for something real”. On top of that, in an interview with ESSENCE, Jon Batiste says “Big Money is not just in dollars, it’s in cultural inheritance.” Referring to the lyric “Grandmama said don’t be no dummy, everybody chasing that big big money” which reflects the honest to god truth that many African Americans had to go through in order to support their family. It wasn’t about morals, it was about money and how it helped your family.
The album was made in two weeks with the assistance of “No I.D” and Batiste has said “You know how something feels when you hear it and there’s nothing you would change? That’s how I know.” The album was a result of two people inspired by the mission of the album, to reflect on not only history, but the ability to change people with music.
“Our whole goal in life should be to serve,” Batiste said to ESSENCE. “My faith is the bedrock of that belief that we are here to serve. We have a purpose, and God put us here with our gifts to do something with ‘em. That’s how I move. And there’s no price to that. You can’t buy me out of that.”
In my personal opinion, I do recommend you listen to this album. It is very interesting in its sound choices and the lyrics provide the listener with the space to think about their life and the choices they’ve made thus far as all good music should.