Jon Batiste Trivia | 50 facts about the jazz musician

Jon Batiste was the name on everyone’s lips after the Grammy Awards 2022. The musician snagged five awards during the ceremony.

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about his life and career thus far.

1. His full name is Jonathan Michael Batiste
2. He was born in November 11, 1986
3. He is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and television personality
4. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music
5. Batiste released his own recordings
6. He has performed in more than 40 countries
7. Batiste regularly tours with his band Stay Human
8. He appears with them nightly as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert since 2015
9. Batiste also serves as the music director of The Atlantic and the Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem
10. In 2020, he co-composed the score for the Pixar animated film Soul
11. For which he received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA Film Award
12. As of 2022, Batiste has garnered five Grammy Awards from 14 nominations
13. His wins include the award for Album of the Year for his album We Are
14. Jon Batiste was born in Metairie, Louisiana in a Catholic family
15. He grew up in Kenner, Louisiana
16. 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
17. At the age of 8, he played percussion and drums with his family’s band, the Batiste Brothers Band
18. At the age of 11, he switched to piano at his mother’s suggestion
19. Batiste developed his piano skills by taking classical music lessons and transcribing songs from video games such as Street Fighter Alpha, Final Fantasy VII and Sonic the Hedgehog
20. At 17, Batiste released his debut album Times in New Orleans
21. He attended St. Augustine High School and New Orleans Center for Creative Arts with Trombone Shorty in New Orleans and graduated in 2004
22. He then went on to attend the Juilliard School, earning a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music in jazz studies in 2008 and 2011, respectively
23. While at Juilliard, he released his second album, Live in New York: At the Rubin Museum of Art
24. By the end of 2006, Batiste had been a featured performer in South Africa, London, Lisbon, Spain, Paris and the United States
25. In 2005, Batiste began performing regularly in New York with his Juilliard peers, bassist Phil Kuehn and drummer Joe Saylor
26. He later added Eddie Barbash on alto saxophone and Ibanda Ruhumbika on tuba
27. Batiste named the band Stay Human
28. The name 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
29. The band leads impromptu street performances, which Batiste calls “love riots”
30. Notable artists were often seen accompanying Batiste, including Wynton Marsalis
31. In 2011, Stay Human released the album MY N.Y.
32. The album was recorded in its entirety on New York City Subway trains
33. It was an idea that came to Batiste after questioning how to connect with people
34. On April 22, 2017, the band played for the March for Science rally at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
35. 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
36. On June 4, 2015, it was announced that Jon Batiste and Stay Human would serve as house band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
37. The show premiered on CBS on September 8, 2015
38. On the show, Batiste and Stay Human have performed alongside Billy Joel, Will Smith, Wynton Marsalis, John Legend, Grace VanderWaal, and Nas
39. Batiste composed music for the 2020 film Soul, collaborating with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
40. The trio went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Score and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score among many other wins and nominations
41. On March 19, 2021, Batiste released WE ARE, his fifth solo studio album
42. Speaking to Atwood Magazine, he described it as “a culmination of my life to this point” and “the most representative of where I’m at as a creative, and as an artist”
43. In July 2021, Batiste released a live EP, Live at Electric Lady
44. The EP was performed in one day at Electric Lady Studios
45. The album was released exclusively to Spotify
46. In the 64th Grammy Awards, Batiste earned 11 nominations
47. Eight for WE ARE
48. And three for Soul
49. Batiste is married to journalist and author Suleika Jaouad
50. In April 2022, the couple revealed in a television interview that they had been secretly married in February 2022, the day before Jaouad was to undergo a bone marrow transplant after she had been diagnosed with leukemia for a second time