Jon Batiste Reveals The Creative Process That Led to Beethoven Blues [Video]

Creatives, both in the advertising field and beyond, often face the tough task of reimagining the familiar—giving audiences what they expect, while at the same time completely surprising them. Consider Coca-Cola’s recent work infusing their ubiquitous holiday ads with AI. 

The five-time Grammy Award-winning Jon Batiste had an even bigger task with the Nov. 15 release of his new album Beethoven Blues, where Batiste infuses the composer’s iconic work with licks and hooks from his own background in jazz and soul. 

Batiste, known for collaborating on the music for Pixar’s Soul (for which he won an Oscar) and for scoring the recent film Saturday Night, broke down his creative process to ADWEEK at the Adcolor conference in Los Angeles.

This interview has been edited and …