Home Music TV Surprise: Jon Batiste Announced Last Week That He Was Taking Off... Jon Batiste is taking the summer off. Tonight Stephen Colbert re-ran his episode from last Friday, which apparently no one paid attention to including me. Colbert, in an usual move, had Batiste, his band leader, as a guest. They talked music. It was lovely. And then Colbert announced that Batiste was taking the rest of the summer off from the show. Colbert said, “See you in September.” Batiste has already had a roller coaster year. He won the Grammy Award in January for his album, “We Are.” He also revealed that his wife, Suleika Jaouad, a 33 year old columnist and motivational speaker, has been battling acute myeloid leukemia since 2011. I’m also told, although unconfirmed, that Batiste has left his manager of many years, Mick Management. He’s not listed on their website anymore. Batiste is, however, sticking with Creative Artists Management as his talent rep, however. The bandleader has already been off Colbert for several weeks. This announcement of a three month break may have to do with his wife’s illness. In November 2021, the Batistes received the news that Suleika’s cancer, which was in remission, had returned – this time more aggressively. Jon Batiste told CBS Sunday Morning: “We’re having to hold these two realities.” Health has to be an issue in their household. On May 6th Batiste revealed he tested positive for COVID after performing at Anna Wintour’s super spreader Met Ball. If Batiste is really taking the summer off then he’s going out with a bang. In the last week he performed at the Time 100 gala and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. On Friday Batiste performed on the Today show, and appeared on ABC’s Soul of a Nation. It’s unclear if he’ll have one off dates over the summer. But the pressure of doing a daily talk show is removed for the meantime.
Jon Batiste, the multiple Grammy Award-winning artist, played his final note on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert after seven seasons. A major change was announced Thursday night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Band leader Jon Batiste has left the show. Batiste has been absent from The Late Show for most of the summer. During those months, he’s made several festival appearances and concerts around the country. At the top of Thursday’s episode of The Late Show, Colbert confirmed that Batiste would not return to the program. The musician, who recently took home five Grammys, will spend more time making music and touring. Batiste wasn’t in the studio during the announcement. However, Colbert made it clear that the Grammy winner won’t have to wait long before he’s invited back as a guest. Batiste was a part of The Late Show from the beginning, joining Colbert as the host’s band leader. Jon Batiste and Stay Human were a mainstay since the show premiered back in 2015. Throughout his seven years on the show, Batiste demonstrated his incredible musical talents while also proving to be a more than capable late-night TV sidekick. He partnered with Colbert on some wildly entertainment segments, even from the earliest days of The Late Show. Louis Cato succeeds Jon Batiste as The Late Show band leaderIt wasn’t all bad news from Stephen Colbert on Thursday night. The Late Show host announced that the band behind Jon Batiste wasn’t going anywhere. Guitarist Louis Cato was named as Jon Batiste’s replacement. Colbert introduced him as Louis Cato and The Late Show Band. Cato should be familiar to Late Show fans. He’s filled in as the band leader and Colbert’s sidekick in the past when Batiste was off recording, touring, or winning Grammys. The musician has also put together performances for The Late Show. Recently, he played songs from his latest album Starting Now. What is your reaction to Jon Batiste leaving The Late Show? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Major shakeup at The Late Show: Stephen Colbert announced Thursday that Jon Batiste would be stepping down as bandleader, effectively immediately, ending his tenure off screen.
Shocking Cast Exits “Sharp-eyed viewers may have noticed that Jon hasn’t been here this summer. Well, I have an update: Jon has decided to leave the show,” Colbert said. “But it’s for all the best reasons, including to continue to share his art with the world. We wanted to give him a big, in-person sendoff, but Jon’s not in town. I hope he’s cutting his new album, and I hope it’s called ‘More Grammys Please.’ “We’ve been so lucky to have a front row seat to Jon’s incredible talent for the past seven years,” the host continued. “And will we miss him here? ‘Yeah!’ But we’re happy for you, Jon, and I can’t wait to have you back on as guest with your next hit record.” In turn, Stay Human fixture Louis Cato, who has served as interim bandleader this summer, will take over on a permanent basis when The Late Show returns for Season 8 on Tuesday, Sept. 6 — at which point Stay Human will be renamed The Late Show Band. He will be joined by Joe Saylor, who has been with the show since its 2015 launch, along with longtime house band members Louis Fouché, Jon Lampley, Endea Owens and Nêgah Santos. Added Cato: “It has been one of the great honors of my life to work on this show, alongside some of the most talented musicians and creatives I know. Watching and learning from both Jon and Stephen for these past seven years, I’m genuinely excited to continue the tradition of excellence they’ve established.” Batiste’s star has steadily risen over the past couple years. In 2020, he co-composed the score for Pixar’s Soul (along with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), for which he received an Oscar, a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA Film Award. He took home four additional Grammys in 2022, including Best Music Video (for “Freedom”) and Album of the Year (for “We Are”). Late on Friday, Batiste acknowledged his Late Show departure, simply tweeting: “Thank God for Stephen Colbert ♥️.”
Will you miss Batiste on The Late Show? Sad to see him go without a proper, on-screen sendoff? Hit the comments with your reactions to the news. |