Jon Batiste is one of history’s most brilliant, prolific, and accomplished musicians.
Batiste studied and received both a B.A. and M.F.A. at the world-renowned Juilliard School in New York City. From 2015 until 2022, Batiste served as the bandleader and musical director of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS. Most recently, Jon was awarded a Sports Emmy in the category of “Outstanding Open/Tease” for his 2022 NCAA March Madness piece. In 2018, he received a Grammy nomination for Best American Roots, and in 2020, he received two Grammy nods for the albums: CHRONOLOGY OF A DREAM: LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD and MEDITATIONS (with Cory Wong).
In 2020, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for the Disney/Pixar film SOUL, an honor he shared with fellow composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Jon’s work on SOUL also earned him a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a NAACP Image Award and a Critic’s Choice Award. He is the second black composer in history, after legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock, to win an Academy Award for composition.
Batiste’s album, WE ARE, was released in March 2021 to overwhelming critical acclaim. Subsequently, he was nominated for eleven GRAMMYs across seven different categories, a first in GRAMMY history. He went on to win five of those GRAMMYs, including Album of the Year. The Matthew Heineman-directed Netflix documentary ‘American Symphony’ – released in partnership with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company – chronicles this meteoric rise in Batiste’s career, all while composing a symphony for Carnegie Hall as his wife, bestselling writer Suleika Jaouad, undergoes cancer treatment. Batiste also performs the powerful song from the film, “It Never Went Away,” which he co-wrote with Grammy winner Dan Wilson.
Batiste’s latest studio album, World Music Radio, draws inspiration from his mission to create community and expand culture with the power of music. His most ambitious work yet, World Music Radio sees Batiste break down the musical barriers of “genre” and collaborate with global superstars Lana Del Rey, Lil Wayne, NewJeans and more. Following its release, Batiste was nominated for another six GRAMMYs, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year (“Worship”), and Song of the Year (“Butterfly”). He is currently on his first-ever tour of North America.
