Breaking from tradition:<\/strong> Jason Reitman’s\u200c vision<\/em><\/p>\n When envisioning the score for Saturday Night<\/em>, director \u2062 Jason Reitman<\/strong> sought\u2062 a unique musical\u200d narrative, distant from the familiar tones of Saturday Night Live<\/em>. Enter Jon Batiste<\/strong>, the multifaceted musician who embraced this challenge \u2062with \u2064enthusiasm. <\/p>\n “He wanted a pressure cooker of a score,” Batiste shares. “I interpreted that to mean an anti-score<\/strong>\u2014something that defies \u2064conventional paradigms.”<\/p>\n Set during a nerve-wracking 90 minutes on October 11, 1975, Saturday Night<\/em> delves into the frenetic energy behind \u200cthe inaugural broadcast of \u2064 Saturday Night Live<\/em>. Lorne Michaels, surrounded by\u200b an ensemble of young comedians and writers, is at the \u2064epicenter of this \u200dcreative storm.<\/p>\n Jon Batiste<\/strong> not only composed the score but also portrays Billy Preston<\/strong> in \u2063the film, \u200cpulling double duty in \u2063Reitman’s ambitious project.<\/p>\n Given free rein to innovate, \u2063Batiste thrived on creating an “anti-score”<\/strong>, a term describing a musical backdrop that eschews standard scoring techniques. “The villain of \u200dthe film is\u2064 the\u200d clock,”<\/strong> Batiste remarks. The music subtly narrates the inexorable\u200d ticking of time, heightening suspense and\u2064 embodying the oppressive pressure the \u200ccharacters face.<\/p>\n At times, the score blends seamlessly with sound \u200beffects and dialogue. “It\u2019s not \u2063typical, it\u2019s unorthodox,” Batiste explains. “In some moments, the score becomes part of the sound design; in others, it takes precedence over dialogue, \u2064creating an intense auditory \u2062experience.”<\/p>\n In place of a full orchestra, Batiste opted for a single-string instrument<\/strong>, a tribute to the vaudeville era and the\u2062 legendary Jack Benny<\/strong>. “I view SNL<\/em> as the pinnacle of variety entertainment, akin to vaudeville,” \u200bhe notes. This choice reinforces the film\u2019s nostalgic element without overshadowing the narrative with a grandiose orchestral presence.<\/p>\n Creating\u2064 a palpable \u200csense of time’s passage, \u200cBatiste meticulously selected instruments \u200cto construct a distinctive \u200d”ticking clock” \u200csoundscape. Percussion, a percussive fiddle,\u2062 horn sections, and tap dance<\/strong> are woven into the score, each chosen for their cultural resonance with New York and early film soundscapes.<\/p>\n “These instruments reflect \u2064the cultural backdrop of New York and \u2063recreate the atmospheric sounds of an early SNL<\/em> house band,” Batiste explains. “The combination harks \u2062back to the\u2063 vaudeville era, enriching \u200dthe narrative with layered auditory textures.”<\/p>\n Batiste \u200dand Reitman envisioned the\u2063 music \u2063as a character in itself<\/strong>, driving the narrative rather than merely\u200d augmenting it. “The music isn’t just there to heighten\u200c emotion\u2014it is a character \u2064influencing the story,” Batiste asserts.<\/p>\n Portraying Billy Preston<\/strong>, Batiste engaged deeply with historical material, including\u200b archival tapes and first-hand accounts, to authentically embody the character. “I had access \u2064to audience-perspective tapes and invaluable insights from cast members\u2064 and extensive research done by Reitman,” Batiste reveals.<\/p>\n While directly influenced by Preston, Batiste also felt a spiritual connection, describing Preston as a “patron saint” of the score. “His spirit infused my recording and composition \u200dprocess, guiding\u200b the musical journey,”\u2064 he says.<\/p>\n Batiste found immense joy in fully immersing himself in both acting and composing, blurring \u2062traditional boundaries.\u2064 “I didn’t separate\u2063 the tasks. Being simultaneously\u2062 on set, acting, composing, and \u2063recording was immersive \u200band invigorating,” Batiste reflects.\u200c “This real-time integration fostered \u2063an authenticity you can’t replicate, \u200bblending presence and creation flawlessly.”<\/p>\n Share the\u200b journey on social media<\/strong> and stay tuned for more groundbreaking insights into the world of film\u2062 and television scores.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jon Batiste’s “Saturday Night” score defies norms with a unique, intense blend of tap dance, fiddle, and percussive elements. Directed by Jason Reitman, the film captures the frantic 90 minutes before the debut of “Saturday Night Live” in 1975<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The story behind ‘Saturday night’s’ \u200dtense clock<\/h3>\n
Breaking musical norms: The ‘anti-score’<\/h3>\n
A nod to \u2062vaudeville: Single-string instrumentation<\/h3>\n
Crafting the ticking clock: Unique instrumentation<\/h3>\n
Music as a character: Integrating score and storytelling<\/h3>\n
Living the role: Batiste as Billy \u200cPreston<\/h3>\n
Carrying Preston’s spirit in the score<\/h3>\n
Immersion in the creative\u2063 process<\/h3>\n
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