jon batiste

“i need you”

treatment by a.ferguson


Westside art gallery.

Jon angles his head to the side befuddled as he tries to make sense of a strange
abstract painting.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spots an absolutely gorgeous art aficionado
sauntering past toward the photo retrospective.

Following discreetly behind, Jon steps into a room full of brilliant archival photo-
prints; musicians and dancers of eras gone by.

And there she is, looking like a snack, standing beneath a gigantic b&w photograph
depicting the 40's Harlem Lindy Hop scene.

She's captivated by the jubilance and frenetic energy of the dancers; the wild, raw
charisma of the band.

Jon steps up and without breaking eye contact with the massive photo-print, attempts
an ice-breaker:

JON

Wow, I mean they reeeally knew how to

do it. So much joy… so much SOUL.

The young lady glances toward Jon, smiles politely, then walks off toward the next
photograph.

Jon shrugs it off, then turns back to study the brilliant print. Truly drawn in, his foot
begins to tap. His fingers snap an upbeat 4/4.

The young lady looks over and is surprised to see Jon swaying to and fro; even more
surprised when she realizes the music he's rocking to is emanating FROM THE
PHOTO.

Stepping closer, she's shocked to see everyone inside the massive photograph is
ALIVE and MOVING. The 4 man band is laying down a ferocious back-beat as the
dancers swing their asses off.
With back toward camera, the charismatic band leader stands before his piano riffing.
the young lady loses it when he turns around revealing...a 1940s VERSION JON, hair
slicked back and howling away...

"We've done a lot of living, we're working overtime. Don't need another million,
you've got that goldmine..." (0:09)

The young lady turns away from the living photograph and sees PRESENT DAY JON
in the gallery singing the song also. He oozes charm and savoir-faire as he performs
like he's in his own world.

With present day Jon AND vintage Jon working folks into a frenzy, dancers IN THE
PHOTO pair off and bust some of the most explosive footwork we've seen in ages.

Just when it couldn't get anymore deliciously surreal, on the bottom edge of the
photo’s frame, a LITTLE KID carrying a sax SNEAKS in behind the piano to peep the
scene.

He sings, "Imagine when I was a little nappy-headed boy, and I never put down my
alto-saxophone..." (0:30)

We whip-zoom in toward the kid and see that his face looks exactly like ADULT JON'S.
(essentially we execute a fun, crafty visual effect that perfectly moulds Jon's head to a
kid's body)
Back on the dance floor in the huge B&W photo, things get combustable: the ecstatic
energy of a back-water baptist church service MEETS a rollicking juke joint at 3am.

Click on the linked clip below with Jon's track laid in to get a sense of the
mesmerizing choreography style and off-the-wall jubilance we're going for:

video link: I Need You with Hellzapoppin' dancers

Present day Jon and the art aficionado chick in the gallery
marvel at the living photograph as a high-spirited couple
busts jaw-dropping acrobatics.

Out of nowhere the female dancer catapults herself over

her partner's shoulders, sails through the air toward
camera and OUT OF THE B&W PHOTOGRAPH...INTO the
COLOR of the modern gallery.

She sticks a perfect landing INTO PRESENT DAY JON'S

ARMS and the two dance without missing a beat.
The art aficionado lady nearly faints as 4 MORE DANCING COUPLES LEAP OUT OF
THE PHOTOGRAPH and into the gallery. All the phenomenal dancers she saw in
smokey black and white now surround her blazing up the floor in vivid living color.

Old school band leader Jon remains in the B&W photo

at piano giving us a thunderous, boogie-woogie
performance that would give Little Richard and Fats
Waller a run.

Meanwhile present day Jon in the gallery is having the

time of his life instigating all types of shenanigans with
his new found friends. He's life of the party, making
sure everybody's having a joyous good time.

Art aficionado chick is clearly mesmerized but acts coy each time Jon dances near.
No worries - he's feeling himself, cutting loose and being uniquely himself like a
young Prince or Andre 3000.

Back up in the b&w photograph, YOUNG, NAPPY-HEADED BOY JON wets his reed
and lights into a wailing saxophone solo. (at 2:07)

Dancing couples spin in unison on the gallery floor. Then in a slick move, two of them
purposely fall back like dominos into the art aficionado chick causing her to trip back
into Jon's arms.
Jon sings to her, lifts her arm for a whirl - and lo and behold - she knows how to spin. I
mean really spin. Like 5 or 6 lighting quick whirls.

She finally lets loose, losing herself to the moment. Jon and her form the center of a
mesmerizing crescendo of jumping, flipping, whirling bodies that nail the most iconic
finale this side of Hellzapoppin’.

We hear the sound of clapping as the camera pans over to the room’s entrance where
the gallery’s security guard stands applauding. Jon and his new lady friend stand up
to catch their breath, look around, and realize they’re ALONE in the middle of the
gallery.

They up to the big B&W photograph. It's still beautiful but now INANIMATE.

The two look to each other and laugh.

the end