In American Symphony, a moving but scattershot documentary following the recording artist Jon Batiste during a whirlwind year, the transcendent moments tend to come along when its subject is anchored to a piano.
Batiste, a musician who harmonizes between genres like jazz, classical, R&B and funk, is most famous for leading Stay Human, the house band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and taking home Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammys. That prize pairs nicely with his Oscar for scoring Pixar’s Soul alongside Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
