Jon Batiste has released “Always Know” and “Susu’s Back In Town,” the first singles from two forthcoming albums inspired by Thelonious Monk. Monk Meditations (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 3) and Monk Movements (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 4) will both arrive August 14, alongside Black Mozart (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 2). The three records are the latest installments in Batiste’s ongoing solo piano series.
The two projects take different approaches to Monk’s catalog. “Always Know,” from Monk Meditations, introduces an eight-track album that pares the composer’s work into new-age-influenced piano pieces, including “Monk’s Mood” and “Crepuscule With Nellie.” “Susu’s Back In Town,” from Monk Movements, previews an eight-track set that recasts Monk standards as contemporary classical compositions. Its tracklist also includes “Blue Monk,” “Ugly Beauty,” and “Brilliant Corners.” Both albums will be available on exclusive color vinyl, including a limited number of signed copies.
Batiste said his connection to Monk began when he first discovered the pianist and listened to his music for a year. That influence was already present on Batiste’s 2006 recording Live in New York: At the Rubin Museum of Art, made while he was a Juilliard student. “Monk is really the master of taking music that’s of the highest complexity and presenting it in a way where anybody can connect to it,” Batiste said. “Monk is for the children, the adults, and the connoisseur.” He added that Monk, Mozart, and Beethoven serve as “three foundational portals” for the broader Batiste Piano Series.
The series began in 2024 with Beethoven Blues, Batiste’s reinterpretation of Beethoven through blues and jazz traditions. The album topped Billboard’s Classical Albums chart for more than two months, according to the release. Batiste later explored the ideas behind Black Mozart during a conversation with Terrance McKnight at The Greene Space for WQXR in New York City. During the event, he combined Mozart’s “Rondo Alla Turca,” presented as “Alla Turc Movement,” with B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone.” A clip from the performance has drawn more than 15 million views across platforms. Together, the three August 14 albums extend the piano series from Beethoven and Mozart to two distinct readings of Monk’s work.
