NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Grammy award winner Jon Batiste returns home to New Orleans and brings a special guest, former First Lady Michelle Obama, with him for a special screening of the Netflix and Higher Ground documentary, “American Symphony,” and Batiste talks to WGNO’s Kenny Lopez about the new film.
The film takes place early in 2022 when multi-instrumentalist Batiste finds himself the most celebrated artist of the year with eleven Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year.
In the midst of that triumph, he is immersed in his most ambitious challenge yet: composing American Symphony, an original symphony that reimagines the traditions of the classical form, bringing together an expansive and inclusive diaspora of music for a performance at storied Carnegie Hall.
The film gives an intimate look into maestro Batiste and his wife Suleika Jaouad’s relationship, as well as his music career.
This extraordinary trajectory is upended when Batiste’s life partner, best-selling author Suleika
Jaouad, learns that her long-dormant cancer has returned.
Batiste said, “It’s been a lesson, that the highs and lows are all life. Everything all at once, that’s what life is.”
His wife said, “So many illness stories are told from someone who has survived, but I wanted to show what it is like when you are living with uncertainty.”
In the intimate “American Symphony,” Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, The First Wave, Retrograde) delivers a portrait of two artists at a crossroads and a profound meditation on art, love and the creative process.
“You realize the celebrities you see, the public figures you see, that we are not exempt from suffering and the human condition,” Batiste said.
At the center of their relationship is playfulness, especially since they met at band camp when they were teens.
“Especially in difficult moments, you can’t take yourself too seriously,” Jaouad said.
“She’s a superhero,” Batiste said.
“American Symphony” Director Matthew Heineman said, “We owe them so much for opening up themselves and for their courage during this vulnerable time.”
The special film screening took place at the Orpheum Theater. “American Symphony” is now streaming globally on Netflix.
Batiste is a five-time Grammy Award winner. He is currently nominated for six Grammys this year.
Michelle Obama is an executive producer for the film with her production company, Higher Ground. She made an appearance at the red carpet New Orleans premiere and spoke at the screening.
WGNO’s Kenny Lopez was LIVE at the Orpheum Theater for the New Orleans premiere:
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.
