Jon Batiste Found New Fire With Randy Newman and Let the Music Lead

Sometimes great music starts with a simple question. For Jon Batiste, it was reaching out to someone he admired and seeing what might happen next.

Years after first meeting Randy Newman, Batiste picked up the phone and called him. There was no big plan. He just wanted to reconnect. What followed was not only a creative spark but a moment of renewal that helped shape Big Money, Batiste’s latest album and one now getting serious Grammy attention.

According to a PEOPLE interview, Batiste had been intentionally reconnecting with artists who influenced him. Newman, a legendary songwriter, was near the top of that list.

When Batiste came back into Newman’s life, the timing mattered. Newman had not been doing much singing, but something shifted once the two started spending time together.

“He hadn’t been in fighting shape. He had been in a space that I was unaware of, but those in his life who were around were so excited to see him that excited about music,” Batiste shared with PEOPLE. “When I’d come around, he’d be wanting to sing, and he wanted to be playing the piano.”

Those casual living room sessions turned into “Lonely Avenue,” a track that now feels anything but small. The song earned a nomination for Best American Roots Performance at the 2026 Grammy Awards. It also helped bring Newman back into a creative rhythm, proving that inspiration does not have an expiration date.

Batiste’s enthusiasm is hard to miss. Even during interviews, music seems to spill out of him. He talks about creativity as something that demands attention, not something you clock into.

“It’s like Quincy Jones said one time. ‘If I don’t get up and write this thing at 4 in the morning when it hits me in a dream, then God’s going to go and give it to Henry Mancini,’” he said. “I try to have balance… but I don't see it as a job. It’s more a calling. It’s a nice thing to be a vessel to the music.”

That mindset shapes Big Money, Batiste’s ninth album, which he recorded in just two weeks. The project blends gospel, soul, blues, folk, and rock, all tied together by a larger idea of American music and shared history.

Batiste sees Big Money as more than just a collection of songs. He sees it as a statement.

“This album is really an album about people and our collective history in sound and in song,” he explained. “Americana is something that was coined as a term around the year 2000, and now I think it’s ripe for a redefinition, an evolution. I think that Americana should and always has been a term to represent all of our music, the history and the essence of who we are.”

That belief also explains why recognition matters to him this time around. While Batiste has already won seven Grammys, including Album of the Year in 2022, he says this album hits differently because of what it represents.

“We stand on the shoulders of men and women who have paved the way, and many of them were unsung and weren’t recognized,” he said.

Batiste is honest about the long road it took to get here. Before his big Grammy breakthrough, he spent years releasing music without much industry attention.

“I’ve been making records since I was 16, 17 years old… And we hadn’t gotten recognized for over a decade,” he said. “I was bummed out by that.”

That stretch taught him something lasting. He encourages artists to focus on the work itself, not the applause.

“Do the work not because you want to be seen or known or make money, do it because you’re the only one that can do it,” he said.

As the 2026 Grammy Awards approach, Batiste plans to celebrate with family, friends, and the collaborators who helped shape Big Money. Winning alongside Newman would be especially meaningful, given the bond they have built.

Their story is simple but powerful. A phone call. A piano. Two musicians from different generations choosing to listen to each other. Sometimes, that is all it takes to make something real.

The 2026 Grammy Awards will air live on CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday, Feb. 1.