Jon Batiste

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - MAY 02: Jon Batiste performs on the sidelines of the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at the Maple Leaf Bar on May 02, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The surprise show was announced in the morning on the artist's social media accounts. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images)

First Name
Jonathan Michael
Last Name
Batiste
Date of Birth
Nov. 11, 1986
Place of Birth
Metairie, Louisiana
Notable Work
Albums: Times in New Orleans (2005); Jazz Is Now (2013); Social Music (with Stay Human, 2013); Christmas with Jon Batiste (2016); Hollywood Africans (2018); We Are (2021); World Music Radio (2023)
Television: Leader of house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (with Stay Human, 2015-2022)
Movies: Soul (collaboration with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, 2020); American Symphony documentary, (2023)
Notable Awards
Golden Globe, Critics Choice Award, BAFTA, Academy Award for Best Original Score, (Soul, 2020)
Grammy Award, Album of the Year, (We Are, 2022)

Born and raised in New Orleans, where his family had deep roots in the city’s jazz community, Jon Batiste was playing drums with the Batiste Brothers Band at age 8, and, after switching to piano as his main instrument, released his debut album Times in New Orleans at 17. He attended the Juilliard School in New York, where he formed the group Stay Human, known for freewheeling performances that could involve jamming on the subway or emptying out clubs for dance parties on the sidewalk.

In 2015, Stay Human became the house band on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where Batiste’s lighthearted rapport with Colbert was a hallmark of the show. Batiste has made other film and TV appearances over the years, including and a cast member on HBO series Treme and a role in the Spike Lee movie Red Hook Summer.

An avid and wide-ranging collaborator, Batiste has worked with artists from Willie Nelson to Prince to Lana Del Rey, and his own acclaimed albums have included 2021’s We Are, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year, and 2023’s World Music Radio. He also took home a Grammy and an Academy Award for his score to the Pixar movie Soul, a collaboration with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.— Jon Dolan