Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for for National CARES Mentoring Movement, How To Stay Human: Jon Batiste Talks With Lara Downes, 'In The Moment, You Just Fly': Jon Batiste Lets Loose At The Piano. But it’s going to be rough going. His dad also co-founded the Batiste Brothers Band: seven brothers who played R&B, soul, funk and New Orleans music. He's suffered for years paying his dues while working as a middle school band teacher. "Wow, I mean, there are at least 30 of the Batiste relatives that are cousins of mine or my uncles," he says. However, an untimely accident causes Gardner’s soul to be separated from his body and begin to proceed to the Great Beyond, and Gardner escapes to … "Because I grew up right there in Minnesota, in Bloomington," he said. Pixar’s latest film Soul, opens to the sound of a Queens, New York, middle school’s band class, led by Joe Gardner, a middle-aged, aspiring jazz musician. Joe Gardner’s dream is to make it as a jazz musician. Soul follows Jamie Foxx's Joe Gardner, a down-on-his-luck jazz musician with aspirations of playing with the greats. Joe’s soul escapes “The Great Beyond” and lands in “The Great Before” where new souls train before birth. Like other Pixar films, “Soul” has slapstick comedy for youngsters and some philosophical depth for grownups. ", Jon Batiste rehearses at The New School on Jan. 25, 2018, in New York City. ", Jon Batiste performs during the National CARES Mentoring Movement's 2nd Annual for the Love of Our Children Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on Jan. 30, 2017 in New York City. He was one of several of the animated film's musical consultants, who also included Herbie Hancock, Daveed Diggs and Questlove. "I was born to play.". In it, Foxx plays Joe Gardner, a jazz musician and teacher who dies. "Joe Gardner, you got a suit?" … He says his father was his first mentor, as was Alvin Batiste, the late clarinetist, "who taught everyone from New Orleans music over the last 40 years." The film follows Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a school band teacher by day, a talented but unsuccessful jazz pianist by night (and always). "Could I be doing more? "Soul" is available exclusively on the Disney+ cable channel. hide caption, Pixar's new animated film Soul is the story of Joe Gardner, a middle school school music teacher with big dreams about performing jazz onstage. Donate today. In the afterlife, he explores passions, dreams and the things that make all of us human. ", "It's just transcendent," he says. "Music is all I think about, from the moment I wake up in the morning to the moment I fall asleep at night," he says. And Docter says the answer to that question is the little things we sometimes take for granted. Middle school music teacher and jazz pianist Joe Gardner (voice of Jamie Foxx) gets the chance of a lifetime, the opportunity to perform with acclaimed jazz saxophone player Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett) at the Half Note Club. Back here tonight. Disney/Pixar We will see how you do. Director Docter gets emotional in 'Inside Out'. He's not ready, but his escape plan to get back for the show goes awry. "I'm proud to work with you," Colbert told him on the show in June, just after Batiste led a peaceful and musical Black Lives Matter march through the streets of New York City. He … He might just get there. In “Soul” Joe Gardner is a jazz musician who has waited for a long, long time to get his big break. As a youngster, he played drums with the family band. He's suffered for years paying his dues while working as a middle school band teacher. Add to that lineage "Uncle" Lionel Batiste from the Treme Brass Band, Milton Batiste from the Olympia Brass Band and his cousin Russell Batiste, Jr., who played with the Funky Meters. However, on the day he gets the gig of a lifetime, he suffers an accident and finds himself in the afterlife. Help ensure MPR remains a resource that brings Minnesotans together. "I was almost in tears, because you see your essence and you think: Wow, this is the first Black Pixar lead and we're putting jazz culture out there in this massive way. The first protagonist of the movie is Joe Gardner, voiced by Jamie Foxx, a talented African American jazz pianist turned music teacher. The movie, starring Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey, tells the story of Joe Gardner (played by Foxx), a middle school band teacher who dreams of one day becoming a true jazz club musician. Musician Jon Batiste wrote original music and performed it for the Pixar film, which animated his fingers playing the piano. ", Batiste has many more projects up his sleeve. Joe Gardner is a jazz musician who dreams of life on stage but ends up a middle school music teacher in Disney Pixar’s newest movie Soul. "My grandfather, David Gauthier is preaching on the record," says Batiste." The movie's co-directors and co-writers say the film is about focusing on the small things that make life good, and that's something they found during the time they lived in the state. Joe Gardner is the central character in Pixar’s new animated movie “Soul.” Pixar veteran and Minnesota native Pete Docter shares writing and directing credits with Kemp Powers, who lived for a while in the Twin Cities. We needed some help to really make sure we captured the experience of what it was like to grow up in Queens, as a person of color, as a musician.”. Now [that] we don't have them anymore they become more important," he said. In “Soul” Joe Gardner is a jazz musician who has waited for a long, long time to get his big break. The computer-animated film co-directed and co-written by “Inside Out” auteur Pete Docter, along with Kemp Powers, tells the story of Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a New York City jazz musician … "And so it's an investigation in to kind of how to live and what makes life worth it.". Which is why playwright and musician Kemp Powers got a call one day. After high school, Batiste studied music at Juilliard. His movie adaptation of his own play "One Night in Miami" opens on the exact same date. Joe’s soul escapes “The Great Beyond” and lands in “The Great Before” where new souls train before birth. Joseph "Joe" Gardner is the main protagonist of the 2020 Disney/Pixar film Soul. Joe Gardner, the protagonist of Soul, wants one thing: to be a successful jazz musician. Musician Jon Batiste wrote original music and performed it for the Pixar film, which animated his fingers playing the piano. A previous version of this story misspelled Juilliard as Julliard. “Soul” is the story of Joe Gardner, a jazz pianist who has waited his entire life for his big break. The first protagonist of the movie is Joe Gardner, voiced by Jamie Foxx, a talented African American jazz pianist turned music teacher. And then he falls down an open manhole and starts on his way to the afterlife. Joe Gardner is a middle school band teacher who has long dreamed of performing jazz music onstage, and finally gets a chance after impressing other jazz musicians during an opening act at the Half Note Club. "It's almost as if everything that's happening is aligned with the greater force controlling the universe. Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for for National CARES Mentoring Movement Though Pixar’s film follows a fictionalized character Joe Gardner, a high school music teachers with aspirations of becoming a professional jazz musician, Dr. Archer said “The movie starts in my classroom!” Dr. Archer taught at Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School 74 in Bayside for decades where he inspired generations of students. ", Batiste calls that "getting in the zone. For a few brief minutes, Joe is on top of the world. Pixar’s new animated film Soul is the story of Joe Gardner, a middle school school music teacher with big dreams about performing jazz onstage. He describes himself as the kind of guy who likes Pixar so much he'll go to see one of the company's movies without his kids. Pixar Playwright Kemp Powers, who co-directed and co-wrote Soul, says it also helps that Batiste has, "long, lanky fingers that really lend themselves to a dynamic look" when animated. Though Pixar’s film follows a fictionalized character Joe Gardner, a high school music teachers with aspirations of becoming a professional jazz musician, Dr. Archer said “The movie starts in my classroom!” Dr. Archer taught at Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School 74 in Bayside for decades where he inspired generations of students.