American Symphony

11/30/2023

Creating a great work of art is very much like creating a heartfelt, loving relationship. Both take work and commitment, both in good times and bad. The challenges can be difficult, but the rewards can be incalculable. Learning how to successfully maneuver through them, as well as how to strike a harmonious balance that keeps both ventures moving forward, is a skill that takes an array of abilities and aptitudes to master, but, as documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman’s latest so deftly illustrates, it’s an attainable goal, the prevailing highs and lows notwithstanding. The film follows the extraordinary year experienced by musician/composer Jon Batiste and his wife, best-selling author Suleika Jaouad. In 2022, they came face to face with both ends of the spectrum of life. Batiste, an art

2/1/2024

Not being terribly steeped in my "American Roots" I was wondering just who Jon Batiste actually was and whether, Aaron Copland-style, we were going to get a modern day illustration of a man writing an art-form that would seem to have long gone out of fashion for the mainstream audiences to whom his Grammy-nominated music appealed. Sadly, not. What we get here is rather muddled documentary that tries to show us a little of the real man, of his wife Suleika - who is undergoing some pretty torrid treatment for leukaemia - all whilst we watch him write, have rather pained sessions with his shrink - "this is the train you are on!" but actually we see precious little of just how the man functions as a musician. As a creator of what he hopes will be a modern orchestral masterpiece to be showcased