Background and career
Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, bandleader, television personality and actor. He has recorded and performed with artists including Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, Doja Cat, Lenny Kravitz, ASAP Rocky, Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, Roy Hargrove, Juvenile, Mavis Staples, and Lauryn Hill. Batiste appeared nightly with his band, Stay Human, as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022. Batiste also serves as the music director of The Atlantic and the Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. In 2020, he co-composed the score for the Pixar animated film Soul, for which he received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA Film Award (all shared with co-composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). Batiste has garnered eight Grammy Awards from 25 nominations, including an Album of the Year win for We Are (2021). In 2023, Batiste was featured in the documentary film American Symphony, which records the process of Batiste composing his first symphony. In 2024, Batiste featured in the ensemble comedy-drama film Saturday Night, directed by Jason Reitman, playing the role of musician Billy Preston, as well as composing the film's score.
Jon Batiste was born in Metairie, Louisiana, to a Catholic family. He grew up in Kenner, Louisiana. 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. At the age of eight, he played percussion and drums with his family's band, the Batiste Brothers Band. At the age of 11, at his mother's suggestion, he switched to piano and took classical piano lessons from local teacher Shirley Herstein every Saturday for seven years. Batiste further developed his piano skills by transcribing songs from video games such as Street Fighter Alpha, Final Fantasy VII and Sonic the Hedgehog. 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. He studied with William Daghlian there. 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.
In 2007, at the age of 20, Batiste made his debut at the Concertgebouw, in Amsterdam, 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. 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 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, and he 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 (2014) by Spike Lee and Thrive (2015) by Paul Szynol.
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. 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". Notable artists were often seen accompanying Batiste, including Wynton Marsalis. 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. On April 22, 2017, the band played for the March for Science rally at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. 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.
On June 4, 2015, it was announced that Jon Batiste and Stay Human would serve as the house band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The show premiered on CBS on September 8, 2015. On the show, Batiste and Stay Human have performed alongside Billy Joel, Will Smith, Wynton Marsalis, John Legend, Grace VanderWaal, and Nas. On the August 11, 2022, episode, Colbert announced that Batiste had decided he would not be returning to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in order to "pursue personal and professional interests". However, he still made occasional appearances on the show, including its final episode on May 21, 2026.
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." 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.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
