Today, August 14, multi-Grammy, Emmy, & Oscar winner Jon Batiste releases three albums in Batiste Piano Series: Black Mozart, Monk Meditations, and Monk Movements

(August 2026) — Multi-Grammy, Emmy, and Oscar winner Jon Batiste releases three albums in the Batiste Piano Series today, August 14: Black Mozart (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 2) on Decca Records US; and Monk Meditations and Monk Movements (Batiste Piano Series Vols. 3 and 4) on Verve Records. Black Mozart can be streamed here, Monk Meditations here, and Monk Movements here. A link to the full series is available here.

Following up on the inaugural release of Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1), the next three installments in Batiste’s solo piano series continue to showcase the pianist’s engagement with transformative composers from multiple eras using elements of spontaneous composition and improvisation. An artist who “actively promotes the normalization of musical ambidexterity” (Downbeat), Batiste’s intent with the three albums is to “curate a musical conversation between Monk and Mozart with me at the piano, honoring them and contributing to their kindred legacies.” He continues:

“Mozart, Monk, and Beethoven are three of a chosen few true musical geniuses of the modern world. My inspirations in this series are drawn from the greatest sources of high art and culture and give you my distinct view of the piano and composition. I think the canon of high art needs to consistently be reevaluated and expanded. Music … is many times put between these walls that marginalize it and limit what it can be. I am here to help liberate it and redefine it for a new era.”

Black Mozart on Decca Records US

Born into a long line of Louisiana musicians, Batiste trained as a classical pianist and received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in jazz piano from The Juilliard School. As the pianist told The New York Times in a profile of the first album in the series, 2024’s Beethoven Blues, his love of combining his own music with the classics dates back to his teenage years, when he would improvise on Chopin and Bach while performing in New Orleans. Batiste’s well-known transcending of genre definitions is a by-product of this musical omnivorousness, but even more importantly it simply reflects the pianist’s joyful engagement with all music, past and present, and his conviction that jazz music is a portal through which all music can be understood and can intercommunicate. The second volume of the Batiste Piano Series turns the spotlight on Mozart, an equally joyful and musically omnivorous soulmate who happened to live two and a half centuries earlier. Batiste elaborates:

“I have reverence for the original works, but this is more about breaking tradition [and expanding] possibilities. These are concepts that require full albums. … Each song builds on a story being told across the album, and each album builds on the Batiste Piano Series, which captures the interconnectedness of music through time and space.”

Monk Meditations and Monk Movements on Verve Records

The idea of the Batiste Piano Series is bigger than engagement with Classical composers. Batiste’s own reimagining of Classical models implies kinship arrows pointing in all directions, and when he thinks of Mozart, the pianist’s next thought is often about Thelonious Monk. Volumes 3 and 4 of the Batiste Piano Series – two volumes, he declares, because “one wasn’t enough” – are devoted to Monk, not only illustrating Batiste’s view of him as a latter-day parallel to Mozart but to honor a towering figure who has been immeasurably influential on Batiste himself.

Though both albums are inspired by the same artist, the complexity of Monk’s music lends itself to many different approaches, and Batiste’s two albums are on different paths: Monk Meditations is likely the first ever new-age meditation album inspired by Thelonious Monk, while Monk Movements reimagines his straight-ahead jazz compositions into long form virtuosic piano movements, expanding the canon of solo piano works. As with Black Mozart and Beethoven Blues before it, what shines through is the consistently innovative enthusiasm of the interpreter, “a once-in-a-generation talent, with a passion for … connecting people through a shared love of music-making” (Classic FM).

These three releases follow the success of Beethoven Blues, which was #1 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart for five consecutive weeks and #1 on Classical Crossover Albums for nine consecutive weeks. It was also Batiste’s highest chart debut on the Billboard Top 200, at #64. Batiste’s 2025 album, Big Money, won Best Americana Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, marking the pianist’s eighth Grammy win. Beyond his work as a recording artist and performer, Batiste has also built a significant body of work as a film composer. He is next set to compose the score for Amazon MGM’s reimagining of The Thomas Crown Affair, directed by and starring Oscar winner Michael B. Jordan and set for release in theaters on March 5, 2027.

In live performance, the pianist continues his “Jon Batiste Live: A Fantastical Musical Journey” tour this fall, which includes an upcoming symphonic show with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra; international festival dates at Curaçao’s North Sea Jazz Festival and Rock in Rio; U.S. dates at Wolf Trap, the Hollywood Bowl, Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, and more.

Jon Batiste: Black Mozart (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 2)

Label: Decca Records US
Formats: streaming, download, CD, Standard Vinyl, D2C Exclusive Opaque Cream Vinyl, D2C Exclusive Opaque Cream Vinyl w/ signed art card
International release date: August 14, 2026

Facile-Batiste
Alla Blues
Alla Turc Movement
Shine
Twinkle
Processional
Country Zart
Molto
Molto in Cayo Hueso
Gospel Andante

Jon Batiste: Monk Meditations (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 3)

Label: Verve Records
Formats: streaming, download, CD, Standard Vinyl, D2C Exclusive Cherry Blossom Pink Vinyl, D2C Exclusive Cherry Blossom Pink Vinyl w/ signed art card
International release date: August 14, 2026

Always Know
Reflections
Eternity Around the Corner
Midnight Movement
Enlightenment of Ruby
Crepuscule With Nellie
Monk’s Mood
Always Know – Outro

Jon Batiste: Monk Movements (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 4)

Label: Verve Records
Formats: streaming, download, CD, Standard Vinyl, D2C Exclusive Transparent Burnt Vinyl, D2C Exclusive Transparent Burnt Vinyl w/ signed art card
International release date: August 14, 2026

In Walked Bud
Blue Monk
Ugly Beauty
Susu’s Back In Town
Red Beans
Brilliant Corners
Light Green Reverie
Monk Movement