I think it's important for people to stay human and remember that genuine human connection is more fulfilling than anything that technology has to offer. We all have it within us, and music is something that can bring that out of us.
Jon BatisteRead
There's a tradition - in New Orleans it still exists - where people play in the street. People play outside of the venues. Food, music, and that cultural exchange, it happens anywhere.
Interpretation
New Orleans embodies a unique tradition of music and cultural exchange happening in public spaces.
Jon Batiste highlights the vibrant cultural tradition of New Orleans, where music and food are not confined to specific venues but are enjoyed openly in the streets. This practice fosters a sense of community and shared experience, celebrating the joy of life through cultural expression and involvement in public spaces.
In practice
During a community event, I shared a quote that captures the spirit of our local culture.
I think it's important for people to stay human and remember that genuine human connection is more fulfilling than anything that technology has to offer. We all have it within us, and music is something that can bring that out of us.
In a live performance, it's a collaboration with the audience; you ride the ebb and flow of the crowd's energy. On television, you don't have that.
The beauty of jazz is that it can accommodate all styles. You can take jazz and put rock in it, and it's still jazz.
The music is really about sharing an experience. That's why we call it Stay Human. It's like we're sharing this genuine human exchange.
I'm from Kenner, Louisiana, where music is played for every occasion in life. There's music for being born, there's music for dying... It's just natural. Families get really good because they play a lot together.
The subway in New York is a great social experiment; there are so many races and ways of life sitting together on each car.
Maybe it's naïve, but I would love to believe that once you grow to love some aspect of a culture-its music, for instance -you can never again think of the people of that culture as less than yourself. I would like to believe that if I am deeply moved by a song originating from some place other than my own homeland, then I have in some way shared an experience with the people of that culture. I have been pleasantly contaminated. I can identify in some small way with it and its people.
The whole world loves American movies, blue jeans, jazz and rock and roll. It is probably a better way to get to know our country than by what politicians or airline commercials represent.
We know so much about the European food story, and we're getting to know about the American food story; but we know so little about the African food story.
I want to keep talking about my people and my country in my own language.
That's beautiful: the hurrah game! well — it's our game: that's the chief fact in connection with it: America's game: has the snap, go fling, of the American atmosphere — belongs as much to our institutions, fits into them as significantly, as our constitutions, laws: is just as important in the sum total of our historic life.
I have always been very proud of my Jewish heritage, which has greatly influenced my music, my world view, and my work as an advocate for individuals whom society often leaves behind.
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