Thrive is a 2015 short documentary film about Matthew Whitaker, a piano prodigy who has been blind since birth.[1] The film was directed and produced by Paul Szynol and has played at festivals worldwide, including North America, Europe, and Asia, the film includes appearances by Jonathan Batiste, Dr Lonnie Smith, and Chad Smith.
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1. Jon Batiste – Jonathan Jon Batiste is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and bandleader from Kenner, Louisiana, United States. Most recently, he was appointed as the artistic director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Batiste regularly tours with his band Stay Human, in 2012, he was listed on ARTINFO as among the 30 under 30 most influential people in the art world. He received a degree from the Juilliard School and currently resides in Washington Heights. Since September 8,2015, Batiste has been the director and bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Batiste is a member of a lineage of musicians from the Batiste family of Louisiana. He was introduced to music by his familys band, the Batiste Brothers Band, at his mothers suggestion, Batiste switched to piano at the age of 11. By then he was attracting considerable attention as a young musician of great talent. A student at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts along with Trombone Shorty, while studying at Juilliard he released his second CD, Live in New York, At the Rubin Museum of Art. In 2006, Batiste received the Movado Future Legend Award, the musician to receive the honor for jazz. By the end of 2006, Batiste had been a performer in South Africa, London, Lisbon, Spain, Paris. In 2007, he made his debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, in addition to the show, he conducted music clinics/master classes and workshops throughout Holland in inner city schools and underprivileged neighborhoods. As a result, he was invited back to Carnegie Hall to produce, the performance included six young musicians from the Netherlands in which Batiste composed music to feature within the program. The performance concluded with a finale he composed for choir, jazz combo and it was viewed as a hugely successful cultural exchange and garnered national attention. Batiste was a member of the 2008 NBA All-Star Game halftime show. Batiste was the youngest artist, performing alongside Allen Toussaint, Harry Connick Jr, dr. John, Ellis Marsalis, Art Neville, Ivan Neville, and Davell Crawford. By 2009, Batiste had released 2 CDs and 2 EPs of his own, in addition to the piano, he chose the melodica as a passion and adopted it as one of his signatures. In 2012, Batiste was appointed artistic director at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem as part of the leadership entrusted with the development
2. Dr Lonnie Smith – Lonnie Smith, styled Dr. Lonnie Smith, is an American jazz Hammond B3 organist. He was born in Lackawanna, New York, into a family with a vocal group, Smith says that his mother was a major influence on him musically, as she introduced him to gospel, classical, and jazz music. He was part of vocal ensembles in the 1950s, including the Teen Kings which included Grover Washington Jr. on sax. Art Kubera, the owner of a music store, gave Smith his first organ. Smiths affinity for R&B melded with his own style as he became active in the local music scene. He moved to New York City, where he met George Benson, Benson and Smith connected on a personal level, and the two formed the George Benson Quartet, featuring Lonnie Smith, in 1966. This combination remained stable for the five years. After recording several albums with Benson, Smith became a recording artist and has since recorded over 30 albums under his own name. In 1967, Smith met Lou Donaldson, who put him in contact with Blue Note Records, Donaldson asked the quartet to record an album for Blue Note, Alligator Bogaloo. Blue Note signed Smith for the four albums, all in the soul jazz style, including Think. Smiths next album Move Your Hand was recorded at the Club Harlem in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the albums reception allowed his reputation to grow beyond the Northeast. He recorded another album, Drives, and another live album unreleased at the time, Live at Club Mozambique. Dr. Smith became a part of the Blue Note family once again in March 2015 and he released his first Blue Note album in 45 years titled Evolution which was released January 29. 2016 featuring special guests Robert Glasper and Joe Lovano, Smith toured the northeastern United States heavily during the 1970s. He concentrated largely on smaller venues during this period. Smith has performed at several prominent jazz festivals with artists including Grover Washington Jr. Ron Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Lou Donaldson, Ron Holloway and he has also played with musicians outside of jazz, such as Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Etta James, and Esther Phillips. He was named the Organ Keyboardist of the Year in 2003,2004,2005,2008,2009,2010,2011,2013, recipient of the 2017 NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship, the highest honor that our nation bestows on jazz artists. Selected as a living legend making exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz, lovingly referred to as Dr. by fellow musicians because he likes to doctor up the tunes with his unique improvisational stylings
3. Chad Smith – Chadwick Gaylord Chad Smith is an American musician and the current drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which he joined in 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot, formed in 2008, and is currently the all-instrumental outfit Chad Smiths Bombastic Meatbats, who formed in 2007. As one of the most highly sought-after drummers, Smith has recorded with Glenn Hughes, Johnny Cash, John Fogerty, The Dixie Chicks, Jennifer Nettles, Kid Rock, Jake Bugg, and The Avett Brothers. In 2010, joined by Dick Van Dyke and Leslie Bixler, he released Rhythm Train, widely regarded as one of rock musics best drummers, Spin magazine placed Smith at #10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music in May 2013. Readers of UK-based Rhythm magazine ranked Smith and Red Hot Chili Pepper bassist Flea the fourth-greatest rhythm section of all time in their June 2013 issue, the drummer is also known for his charity work especially with young musicians. He has been a lobbyist in support of education in U. S. public schools. Smith is also the host of the PBS concert series, Landmarks Live in Concert. Smith was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the child of Curtis. He spent most of his childhood in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and he also cites Ian Paice, Mitch Mitchell, Bill Ward, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Stewart Copeland, and Neil Peart as early influences on his drumming. Smith spent his years in various rock bands including Pharroh. Pharrohs percussionist Larry Fratangelo, who worked with Parliament-Funkadelic, introduced Smith to R&B and funk music. Smith said, I think up until then, I was a drummer, once I studied with Larry, I turned into a musician. Funk drummers like David Garibaldi, Jabo Starks, Clyde Stubblefield, later, Smith decided to move to California to pursue his musical aspirations. In 1988, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were looking for a replacement for their drummer D. H. Peligro, already into the process of working on their fourth studio album and hiring new guitarist, John Frusciante, the band held open auditions for a new drummer. Smith was one of the last drummers to audition for the band, nonetheless, the band was blown away by his audition. Singer Anthony Kiedis admired Smith and found his persistence impressive, Smith joined the Chili Peppers in December 1988 and within a few months was recording his first album with the band, Mothers Milk. Smith reflected on joining the band in a 2012 interview by saying “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, cool, i’d love to be in a band that has a record deal. We started playing, and right away we just hit it off musically, I was like, ‘Man, this is a blast. We were just doing what we do and we just jammed, which is what we still do today
