LiveOne
Jonathan Michael Batiste (November 11, 1986) is an American pianist, composer, and bandleader, mostly known for fronting Stay Human, the house band for late-night talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Boasting an impressive musical resume, Batiste has recorded and performed with the likes of Prince, Stevie Wonder, and Mavis Staples, and has played shows in over 40 countries. Born in Metairie, Louisiana, into a family of renowned local musicians such as Lionel Batiste, Milton Batiste, and Harold Batiste, he took his first steps in music as a percussionist and then switched to piano at the age of 11. After refining his skills by taking classical music lessons, 17-year-old Jon Batiste made his debut with the album Times in New Orleans (2005) featuring Jason Marsalis, Donald Harrison, Jr., and Christian Scott. His musical education continued at the Juilliard Music School, where he formed the band Stay Human with bassist Phil Kuehn, drummer Joe Saylor, and saxophonist Eddie Barbash. Following Batiste’s graduation in 2013, Stay Human released their first full-length Social Music, which reached the top of Billboard’s Jazz Albums chart. That same year, he teamed up with drummer Chad Smith (of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame) and bassist Bill Laswell for the soundtrack to The Process. Jon Batiste and Stay Human were announced as the house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2015, where they had the opportunity to perform with Billy Joel, John Legend, and Nas. An EP titled The Late Show EP arrived the next year, peaking at Number 3 on the Jazz Albums chart, as well as the holiday album Christmas with Jon Batiste. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, Hollywood Africans hit the shelves in 2018, earning Batiste a Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Performance for his version of “Saint James Infirmary.” He followed this success with the live album Anatomy of Angels: Live at the Village Vanguard in 2019 and Meditations, a collaborative effort with guitarist Cory Wong that received a Grammy nomination for Best New Age Album in 2020. Over the next couple of months, Jon Batiste released the Black Lives Matter-inspired track “We Are” and issued Music from and Inspired by Soul, featuring his contribution to the original soundtrack of Pixar’s animated film Soul. An Oscar nomination for his work on the film ensued in 2021 and so did We Are, a masterful collection of Black Music that featured guest spots by Mavis Staples, Zadie Smith, PJ Morton, and Trombone Shorty. In August 2023, Batiste dropped his highly anticipated seventh album "World Music Radio," featuring guest appearances by JID, NewJeans, Camilo, Jon Bellion, Fireboy DML, Kenny G, Lil Wayne, Leigh-Anne and Lana Del Rey. The album reached number 104 in the Top 200 albums chart.
Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.
