Hollywood Africans, Jon Batiste, LP

Double vinyl LP pressing. 2018 release from the musician, bandleader and TV personality. Batiste is best known as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Recorded in his hometown of New Orleans, the album is produced by T-Bone Burnett and is described as "an homage to his musical heroes and an intimate portrait of the artist." As Batiste explains, "The idea was to strip everything down, go back to basics. "When you strip something down to rawest form, the essence of it shines through." The Kenner-born bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert opted to include on the album's track list the New Orleans standard "Saint James Infirmary," as well as "Smile," "The Very Thought of You" and Louis Armstrong's timeless "What a Wonderful World."