50 Fun Facts About Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste was born in Metairie and raised in Kenner, both in which state?

He comes from a New Orleans musical dynasty that includes Lionel Batiste of the Treme Brass Band.

Batiste led the house band for which talk-show host from 2015 to 2022?

Colbert hired him after a 'stirring' performance of 'Express Yourself' on The Colbert Report in 2014.

The name of Batiste's band Stay Human refers to the power of live music to counter what?

He formed the group in 2005 with classmates Phil Kuehn on bass and Joe Saylor on drums.

Batiste won an Academy Award for co-composing the score of which 2020 Pixar film?

He shared the Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy and BAFTA with two co-composers better known for their rock band.

Which Batiste album won Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammys?

He was the second Black artist to win the award since Herbie Hancock in 2008.

Which two composers shared the Soul score credits and awards with Batiste?

Reznor and Ross are best known as Nine Inch Nails and for scoring The Social Network.

Batiste earned how many nominations at the 64th Grammy Awards, the most of any artist that year?

Eight were for We Are and three for Soul; he won five.

At which conservatory did Batiste earn both his bachelor's and master's degrees in jazz studies?

He met bandmates Phil Kuehn and Joe Saylor there in 2004.

At what age did Batiste switch from drums and percussion to the piano, at his mother's suggestion?

He took classical lessons from Shirley Herstein every Saturday for seven years.

Batiste sharpened his piano skills as a boy by transcribing music from what?

Street Fighter Alpha, Final Fantasy VII and Sonic the Hedgehog were on the playlist.

Which Final Fantasy composer has Batiste named as one of his 'earliest inspirations'?

He told Uematsu he started composing at 10 by altering Final Fantasy melodies on a Kawai keyboard.

Batiste attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts alongside which future star?

Trombone Shorty later guested on We Are; Batiste graduated in 2004.

At what age did Batiste release his debut album, Times in New Orleans?

At eight he had already been playing percussion in the Batiste Brothers Band.

Batiste made his debut at which famous Amsterdam concert hall in 2007, aged 20?

He also ran music clinics in Dutch inner-city schools and brought six young Dutch musicians to New York for a show of his own.

Stay Human's 2011 album MY N.Y. was recorded entirely where?

The idea came to Batiste after asking himself how to connect with people.

What does Batiste call the impromptu street performances his band leads?

Wynton Marsalis has been among the notable musicians spotted joining in.

What was Batiste's 2013 album with Stay Human, which topped the Billboard jazz chart for a month?

Its single 'Express Yourself' was co-written with Austin Bis.

Batiste's 2018 solo debut for Verve, with 'Don't Stop' as lead single, was called what?

He toured US festivals with the Dap-Kings ahead of its release.

Batiste's cover of which traditional song earned a 2019 Grammy nomination?

In 2017 he had released 'Ohio' with Leon Bridges and Gary Clark Jr.

Batiste appeared as himself in three seasons of which HBO drama set in New Orleans?

He also played T.K. Hazelton in Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer and composed its Hammond organ music.

Batiste's single 'We Are' features the Marching 100 of which New Orleans institution, his alma mater?

The Marching 100 appeared on the June 2020 single; the album also features Mavis Staples and Zadie Smith.

Where did Batiste record much of We Are, over six days in September 2019?

It was largely finished before 2020, but its themes reflect the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests.

Who wrote the liner notes for We Are?

Batiste's wife, Suleika Jaouad, took the photographs.

Batiste's 2021 live EP, released exclusively on Spotify, was recorded in one day at which studio?

The studio was built by Jimi Hendrix in Greenwich Village.

In October 2021 Batiste sang 'Like a Prayer' on the streets of Harlem alongside which star?

It was a surprise promotion for her concert film Madame X.

Batiste conducted the premiere of his American Symphony in September 2022 at which venue?

Variety called it 'a handsome orchestral debut' and 'a truly shining hour'.

The documentary American Symphony was executive-produced by which couple's production company?

Netflix and Higher Ground acquired it after its Telluride premiere; 'It Never Went Away' earned an Oscar nomination.

American Symphony follows Batiste's year while his wife battles a recurrence of which illness?

Suleika Jaouad is a best-selling author and journalist; the two met as teenagers at band camp.

Who directed American Symphony?

He also wrote, shot and edited the film, which premiered at Telluride in August 2023.

Batiste's 2023 concept album featuring Lana Del Rey, Lil Wayne and NewJeans was titled what?

It was supported by the single 'Calling Your Name'.

Batiste's first headlining concert run, in 2024, went by what name?

He followed it with improvised solo shows billed as 'STREAMS: Jon Batiste At The Piano'.

Batiste sang the national anthem at Super Bowl LIX in February 2025 alongside whom?

Stephanie Nogueras performed it in American Sign Language.

Batiste's 2025 record Big Money won which Grammy in 2026?

Andra Day, No I.D. and Randy Newman collaborated on the blues, R&B and classic-rock set.

Batiste played which musician in Jason Reitman's 2024 film Saturday Night, and also composed its score?

Preston was the musical guest on the very first episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975.

Batiste's 'Dusklight Movement' on Beethoven Blues draws on the 'Moonlight' Sonata and which blues song?

He told the New York Times that Beethoven's music is 'so very African, filled with polyrhythms'.

Besides music director of The Atlantic, Batiste took a creative director role where?

He recorded 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' for The Atlantic in 2017.

Batiste's grandfather David Gauthier was a state union president representing which profession?

Batiste's single 'We Are' supports Bryan Stevenson's Equal Justice Initiative.

Who took over as bandleader on The Late Show when Batiste left in 2022?

Batiste had invited the multi-instrumentalist into the band in 2015; the group was renamed Louis Cato and the Late Show Band.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the band was introduced on air under what name?

They recorded their segments from home during 2020 and 2021.

Batiste and Stay Human played a rally at the Washington Monument in April 2017 for which cause?

Batiste also organised peaceful protests in New York after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Batiste and his wife, author Suleika Jaouad, first met as teenagers where?

They revealed on CBS News Sunday Morning in April 2022 that they had quietly married at home that February.

Batiste played T.K. Hazelton and wrote the Hammond organ music for which Spike Lee film?

He later appeared in Lee's Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014) as well.

Batiste's 2017 single 'Ohio' teamed him with Gary Clark Jr. and which soul singer?

The same year he recorded 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' for The Atlantic, where he is music director.

Batiste's 2021 Oscar made him the second Black composer to win Best Original Score, after whom?

Hancock won in 1987 for Round Midnight. Hancock was also the last Black artist before Batiste to take Album of the Year at the Grammys.

In 2018 Batiste was named Grand Marshal of which New Orleans Carnival parade?

Four years later he was featured on the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival's commemorative poster.

Batiste's Grammy-nominated 2020 album Meditations was made with which guitarist?

It was up for Best New Age Album the same year his Village Vanguard live set was nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.

Which university gave Batiste an honorary music doctorate in May 2025?

Columbia followed with its own honorary Doctor of Music a year later, praising work that 'defies categorization'.

Batiste's 2025 album Big Money features Andra Day, No I.D. and which veteran songwriter?

The record ranges across blues, R&B and classic rock, a swerve from the Beethoven Blues piano album that preceded it.

Which single did Batiste and Stay Human perform on The Colbert Report in 2014?

The song was written and produced with Austin Bis. The house-band announcement came on June 4, 2015.

Batiste's Grammy-nominated live album Chronology of a Dream was recorded at which jazz club?

It earned a 2020 nod for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, one of two nominations he picked up that year.