Jon Batiste Announces New Album Big Money

Jon Batiste never slows down. Just last year, he released Beethoven Blues, the inaugural volume in his “Batiste Piano Series,” after earning an Oscar nomination for American Symphony. The work followed the critically-acclaimed World Music Radio, his anticipated follow-up to the Grammy-winning blockbuster We Are. Big Money marks Batiste’s ninth studio album and biggest leap yet.

The songs are soulful meditations on capitalism and Americana with an emphasis on roots music’s communal legacy, written and recorded over the course of two weeks. The result is a stripped-back, ecstatic vault of spontaneity and tribute. “However you interpret the songs,” Batiste says, “you can’t help feeling them. You can’t help accepting an invitation into the tent. Come in and have fun… some deeply serious fun.”

Big Money will be out August 22 via Verve/Interscope and features contributions from No ID, Randy Newman, and Andra Day. The news comes with the release of the album’s title track, which Jon Batiste calls the “circus of love.” “Under our tent there is revival and joy,” he elaborates. “You don’t lose your soul—you gain it. When Mama says, ‘Don’t be a dummy, everybody chasing that big money,’ Mama is pushing you—while warning you. It cuts both ways.”