The feel-good, high-energy, big-band spirit of joyful noise was in the house last weekend as Jon Batiste paid us an oh-so-welcome visit to the Santa Barbara Bowl. And what an uplifting evening it was. From the first notes of “Tell the Truth” and the beautiful chorus about looking for love, it was clear from the get-go that we had come to the right place for a jolt of positivity.
Until recently Batiste was best known, at least to me, as the bandleader on Stephen Colbert’s show, and his incredibly tight band — with notably fabulous, full-bodied vocals by Desiree “Desz” Washington in a fantastically colorful butterfly of a dress to go with the tour theme — definitely showed off his skill in that regard.
But that was just the beginning.