Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste is one of today's most brilliant, prolific, and accomplished musicians.

Batiste 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, Batiste was awarded a Sports Emmy for outstanding open/tease for his 2022 NCAA March Madness piece. In 2018, he received a Grammy nomination for best American roots performance, 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. Batiste'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 11 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 the meteoric rise of Batiste’s career while he juggled composing a symphony for Carnegie Hall as his wife, bestselling writer Suleika Jaouad, underwent cancer treatment. Batiste also performs the powerful song It Never Went Away from the documentary, 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 for the track Worship, and song of the year for the track Butterfly. He is currently on his first-ever tour of North America.