My Review- American Symphony
My Rating 7.5/10
Netflix
Another fine documentary produced by the American Film and Television company Higher Ground Productions founded in 2018 by former American President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.
The goal of their company is to lift up diverse voices in the entertainment industry.
I've been impressed with other of their documentaries such as Becoming, 2020 Descendant 2022 and the Oscar winning 2020 documentary American Factory all from this production company They certainly succeed again in this entertaining and at times confronting true story of two people who refuse to give up . One is a musician who refuses to be type cast or put in a particular musical genre Jon Batiste and his wife Suleika Jaouad a writer who underwent serious cancer treatment refusing to give up on life .
I had never heard of musician composer Jon Batiste before this documentary but now I know that in 2022 he was the most celebrated artist of the year with 11 Grammy nominations including album of the year.
A great year of achievement for sure but refusing to be pigeon hold as a pop wrap artist he sets off on his most ambitious composition of all to compose a symphony.
This was all happening while his wife the best selling author Suleika Jaouad discovered her leukaemia had returned and she must undergo aggressive cancer treatment.
As an encore after winning five honors at the 64th Grammys (including album of the year for "We Are" an Oscar for best original score (for co-composing Disney-Pixar's "Soul" Jon Batiste begins to compose a classical American Symphony hence the title . He also wants to have it performed at the famous Carnegie Hall in New York which it was in September 2022 with a 63 person performing ensemble .
He even gave up his lucrative band leader gig on The Stephen Colbert Late Show to have time to devote to his composing and support Suleika his wife with her illness.
It's a very inspiring documentary I always enjoy learning about new music and the musician's that create it no matter if it's not in my spectrum of appreciation so I recommend American Symphony.
Another fine documentary produced by the American Film and Television company Higher Ground Productions founded in 2018 by former American President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.
The goal of their company is to lift up diverse voices in the entertainment industry.
I've been impressed with other of their documentaries such as Becoming, 2020 Descendant 2022 and the Oscar winning 2020 documentary American Factory all from this production company They certainly succeed again in this entertaining and at times confronting true story of two people who refuse to give up . One is a musician who refuses to be type cast or put in a particular musical genre Jon Batiste and his wife Suleika Jaouad a writer who underwent serious cancer treatment refusing to give up on life .
I had never heard of musician composer Jon Batiste before this documentary but now I know that in 2022 he was the most celebrated artist of the year with 11 Grammy nominations including album of the year.
A great year of achievement for sure but refusing to be pigeon hold as a pop wrap artist he sets off on his most ambitious composition of all to compose a symphony.
This was all happening while his wife the best selling author Suleika Jaouad discovered her leukaemia had returned and she must undergo aggressive cancer treatment.
As an encore after winning five honors at the 64th Grammys (including album of the year for "We Are" an Oscar for best original score (for co-composing Disney-Pixar's "Soul" Jon Batiste begins to compose a classical American Symphony hence the title . He also wants to have it performed at the famous Carnegie Hall in New York which it was in September 2022 with a 63 person performing ensemble .
He even gave up his lucrative band leader gig on The Stephen Colbert Late Show to have time to devote to his composing and support Suleika his wife with her illness.
It's a very inspiring documentary I always enjoy learning about new music and the musician's that create it no matter if it's not in my spectrum of appreciation so I recommend American Symphony.