Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste was born in Metairie, Louisiana, to a Catholic family.[1][10] He grew up in Kenner, Louisiana.[2] Batiste is a member of a New Orleans musical dynasty, the Batiste family, that includes Lionel Batiste of the Treme Brass Band, Milton Batiste of the Olympia Brass Band, and Russell Batiste Jr.[11][12] At the age of 8, he played percussion and drums with his family's band, the Batiste Brothers Band.[13] At the age of 11, he switched to piano at his mother's suggestion and took classical piano lessons from local piano teacher, Shirley Herstein, every Saturday from ages 11 to 18.[14] Batiste further developed his piano skills by transcribing songs from video games such as Street Fighter Alpha, Final Fantasy VII and Sonic the Hedgehog.[15]

At 17, Batiste released his debut album Times in New Orleans. He attended St. Augustine High School and New Orleans Center for Creative Arts with Trombone Shorty in New Orleans and graduated in 2004. He then went on to attend the Juilliard School, receiving a Bachelor of Music in 2008 and a Master of Music in 2011, both in jazz studies.[16] While at Juilliard, he released his second album, Live in New York: At the Rubin Museum of Art. By the end of 2006, Batiste had been a featured performer in South Africa, London, Lisbon, Spain, Paris and the United States.[17]

Batiste plays at the 2014 Monterey Jazz Festival

In 2007, Batiste made his debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam at the age of 20, producing and performing his own show. He conducted music clinics, classes and workshops throughout the Netherlands in inner-city schools and underprivileged neighborhoods. He was invited to Carnegie Hall to produce and perform in his own show with six young musicians from the Netherlands.[18] The performance concluded with a finale he composed for choir, jazz combo and orchestral instruments. In the following years, Batiste released a number of music projects including Social Music (2013), which spent over a month at the top of the Billboard and iTunes jazz charts; The Late Show EP (2016) with Stay Human; and a holiday album Christmas with Jon Batiste (2016). In 2017, he released the singles "Ohio" with Leon Bridges and Gary Clark Jr. as well as "Battle Hymn of the Republic" for The Atlantic. Batiste's cover of "St. James Infirmary Blues" was nominated for a Grammy in 2019, in the category of Best American Roots Performance. Batiste's debut solo album Hollywood Africans was released by Verve Records in September 2018. "Don't Stop" served as the lead single. Leading up to the album release, he completed a Summer Festival tour across the U.S. with the Dap-Kings.

Batiste's notable career performances include a tribute to Chuck Berry and Fats Domino during the 60th annual Grammy Awards (performing alongside Gary Clark Jr.); the Kennedy Center Honors' tribute to Carmen De Lavallade; the Concert for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama; the National Anthem at the 2017 NBA All Star Game; and Opening Night of the 2017 US Open. He has curated the Global Citizen Advocacy Concert with Tom Morello and the Louis Armstrong Wonderful World Festival in Queens, N.Y.

Batiste was cast in the HBO television series Treme, appearing as himself in seasons 2, 3 and 4. He was also cast as T.K. Hazelton in director Spike Lee's film Red Hook Summer[18] and composed and performed the Hammond B-3 organ music that was a part of the film score. Other film scores composed by Batiste include the television documentary Duke 91 & 92: Back to Back and the short film Melody of Choice. He also appears in the films Da Sweet Blood of Jesus by Spike Lee and Thrive by Paul Szynol.

Stay Human

Jon Batiste and Stay Human perform at the 2015 Newport Jazz Festival

In 2005, Batiste began performing regularly in New York with his Juilliard peers, bassist Phil Kuehn and drummer Joe Saylor. He later added Eddie Barbash on alto saxophone and Ibanda Ruhumbika on tuba.[19] Batiste named the band Stay Human, which draws its moniker from the belief that human interaction during a live musical performance can uplift humanity in the midst of the "plug in, tune out" nature of modern society. The band leads impromptu street performances, which Batiste calls "love riots".[20] Notable artists were often seen accompanying Batiste, including Wynton Marsalis.[21]

In 2011, Stay Human released the album MY N.Y., which was recorded in its entirety on New York City Subway trains, an idea that came to Batiste after questioning how to connect with people.[22]

On April 22, 2017, the band played for the March for Science rally at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.[23][24]

In 2014, Batiste and Stay Human appeared on The Colbert Report to perform the group's single "Express Yourself", written and produced with Austin Bis.

Juneteenth 2020 celebration

Batiste performs at Juneteenth.

In June 2020, Batiste took part in the Juneteenth celebration in Brooklyn, New York with a day of protests, marches, rallies, and vigils to "celebrate, show solidarity, and fight for equal rights and treatment of Black people".[26] Performing on the steps of the Brooklyn Public Library, Batiste was joined by Matt Whitaker in a performance presented in partnership with Sing For Hope.[26]

The 2020 Juneteenth took place during the protests following the murder of George Floyd, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, seen by some as connected to an increase in an awareness of racial injustice.[27] When questioned as to the differences he sees in the present movement for change, and its connection to music, Batiste responded by saying: "...music has always been something that has had all of the different purposes of our life and our community and our healing and our unspoken pain – and the transmission of messages and the raising awareness of a condition of a people. [...] What's different now is that it's much more widespread in the support of changing the systemic oppression that's been going on for 400 years." He believes, "Now, it's more important than ever for us to be reintroduced to what our ancestors used music for, because it's been forgotten. [...] The world at large sees music as entertainment. It's never been that, at its root. It is that in one element of it, but the entire spectrum of music is far, far deeper and wide-ranging."[28]

Batiste is married to journalist and author Suleika Jaouad. The two met as teenagers at band camp.[38] On April 3, 2022, the couple revealed in an interview on CBS News Sunday Morning that they had been married in a private ceremony at home in February 2022.[39]

Batiste cites among the artists who have most influenced his artistic and musical choices Mahalia Jackson, James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Miles Davis and Django Reinhardt.[40][41] Interviewed by Forbes, Batiste explained the significance of jazz music:[41]

Music is a real form of connection to a higher power at its greatest; music was a form of community that brought people together and gave them a common purpose. Jazz is really a term that doesn't encompass what it's pointing at, [...] the intellectual breadth of black geniuses who were basically denied the credential of being a genius in society because of their skin tone. [...] We always talk about improvisation, and it really is one of the only forms of music that exemplifies the American experiment putting all these different cultures into one country and coexisting and trying to create beautiful music together.

— Jon Batiste, in Jon Batiste: So Much More Than Stephen Colbert's Music Director (Forbes)

Batiste was born into a family active in the struggle against racial segregation in the United States;[40] his grandfather David Gauthier was president of the Louisiana Postal Workers Union, involved in the 1968 labor strike sponsored by the Memphis, Tennessee, Department of Public Works for higher wages and safer working conditions. The protest led to the presence of Martin Luther King Jr., where he delivered his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, the day before his assassination.[42]

The singer is a supporter of civil rights, the fight against racism, participating publicly in numerous demonstrations, including the marches promoted by the Black Lives Matter movement.[43] Following the murder of George Floyd in June 2020, Batiste organized peaceful protests in New York City against police brutality in the United States.[44]

Through the single "We Are", he supports the Equal Justice Initiative of attorney and activist Bryan Stevenson. Batiste is also among the sponsors of several initiatives, including Innocence Project, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and The Legacy Museum.[45][40]

Batiste has received several accolades, including being placed in the 2016 Forbes 30 Under 30 music list,[79] and being named Grand Marshal of Endymion Parade in New Orleans in 2018.

He has been awarded the American Jazz Museum Lifetime Achievement Award, the Harry Chapin ASCAP Humanitarian Award and the Movado Future Legend Award. In May 2017, Batiste received an honorary degree from Salve Regina University for his musical achievements and contributions to Newport's 2014 International Jazz Day.[80] In 2018, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance for "Saint James Infirmary Blues".[8] In 2020, he received two Grammy nominations: his album Chronology of a Dream: Live at the Village Vanguard was nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, and Meditations (with Cory Wong) was nominated for Best New Age Album.[8]

In 2020 Batiste, along with Nine Inch Nails band members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, composed the score for the Disney and Pixar animated film Soul. The three went on to win the Golden Globe, the Critics' Choice Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Academy Award for Best Original Score. Batiste's Oscar win made him only the second black composer to win an award in the category (after Herbie Hancock in 1987).[32] In 2021, Batiste received 11 nominations and became the most nominated artist at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.[81]

In 2022, Batiste won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.[82] He was named in Time magazine's 2022 "Top 100 Most Influential People", in the Icons category.[83] Batiste was featured on the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival's commemorative poster.[83]

• "A Conversation with Jon Batiste". Aspen Ideas Festival. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
• Martel, Brett (February 18, 2008). "New Orleans tourism gets boost from NBA All-Star game". USA Today. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
• Kozinn, Allan (January 23, 2008). "Mystical to Muscular: Many Styles in Play at a Keyboard Marathon". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
• Pogrebin, Robin (March 26, 2008). "Louisiana Extols Culture in Recovery". The New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2008.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jon Batiste.

• Official website
• Jon Batiste at IMDb 
• "Jon Batiste: Staying Human", interview by Bob Kenselaar, All About Jazz, January 2013,
• The Batiste Family