Jon Batiste

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 two albums.

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.