Jon Batiste on a Lifetime of Musical Alchemy

JON BATISTE HAS NO interest in fitting neatly into categories. The lifelong musician instead is engaged in what he calls a broader “humanist” project— to be as multifaceted and expressive a creator as possible, be that as a recording artist, an Oscar-winning film composer, or a bandleader for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

- JUSTIN CURTO

Born into a New Orleans musical institution, Batiste began performing in the Batiste Brothers Band at age 8 and later juggled studying jazz at Juilliard and touring with his band, Stay Human. Their 2014 performance on The Colbert Report earned them the gig as the Late Show house band before Batiste had even turned 30. His eighth album, 2021’s We Are, is a document of virtuosity blending R&B, jazz, hip-hop, and rock, sometimes in the same song. The risk paid off: He is nominated for 11 Grammys, a near record. A more personal win is his history-making number of nominations across fields in a single year, appearing in the R&B, American Roots, Classical, Music Video, and general categories for We Are, along with Jazz and Visual Media for his soundtrack to Pixar’s Soul. He welcomes the hard-won attention while keeping his focus on craft, just as he would if the accolades had never arrived.

Quickest song to make on We Are