AATA Ambassador – Jon Batiste

“You play in a bar room, people are smoking, there are long hours, practicing, you carry equipment to your gig. The idea of all of this (health needs) is foreign to the music community, from the conservatory level to the level of street performers and everything in between.

 
I believe music is healing and if you want to heal other people, you’ve got to heal yourself first. The healthier we are as musicians and the arts community in general, dancers and actors, the better the world will be.”   *Jon Batiste, Jazz Musician and AATA Ambassador, Athletes and the Arts.*
 

Biography

JB_pianoWith his unique voice, virtuosic piano chops and dapper sense of style, Jon Batiste transcends music genres and has ignited the NYC music scene. Raised among the sounds and rhythms of New Orleans, Batiste comes from a renowned lineage of performers. He studied jazz and classical piano at the world renowned Juilliard School, is a “Movado Future Legend” award recipient, and a “Steinway Performing Artist.”

At 25, he has performed in over 40 countries, playing everywhere from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to The Kennedy Center and Concertgebouw. With his modern take on American music, and clever use of the harmonaboard, Batiste has collaborated with musicians from across the spectrum – Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Connick Jr., Roy Hargrove, Cassandra Wilson, Mark O’Connor and Asher Roth among them.

JB_expansiveThe Wall Street Journal has said of Jon, he is “already a master of modern jazz as well as the great New Orleans party piano playboys like Professor Longhair, James Booker and Doctor John.” His own records include “Times in New Orleans,” “Live In New York: At The Rubin Museum Of Art,” as well as EPs “The Amazing Jon Batiste EP,” “In The Night EP,” and his most recent critically acclaimed album “MY N.Y.” His next, highly anticipated album is due out this October on the Razor and Tie label.

A television and film regular, Jon has also been featured on the HBO series “Treme,” BET and soon in Spike Lee’s “Red Hook Summer.”

Jon Batiste is the founder and leader Stay Human, an ensemble noted for their world-class music, high energy and uplifting spirit – which they take to concert halls as well as subways. They have coined their music ‘social music’.

JB_harmoniboardDedicated to igniting the next generation of musicians, in his position as artistic director at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Batiste has programmed year-long educational workshops for hundreds of students.

As a traveling ambassador for “Music Unites,” the NY based non-profit organization, he works to bring music education to kids with an ear and passion for music, but not necessarily the resources.

As an international educator and humanitarian, Batiste has conducted clinics and master classes worldwide – teaching kids from Holland to Harlem how to use music to make the world a better place.

http://www.jonathanbatiste.com/

Bio from https://www.facebook.com/JonBatisteMusic/info

Video

Video: Athletes and the Arts: Jon Batiste intro

Video: Athletes and the Arts: Jon Batiste performance

Also see: Jon Batiste interview about Athletes and the Arts

In the News

“Sampling New York’s Musical Buffet,” The New York Times, October 16, 2013
http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/travel/sampling-new-yorks-musical-buffet.html