Jazz Superstar Jon Batiste Added to Festival Line-Up
December 21, 2019
Jon Batiste, internationally celebrated pianist, vocalist, percussionist, and band leader, will perform with his band at the 2020 Festival on Sunday, May 3.
Tickets for this exceptional concert are available now to Gilmore Contributor Circle donors of $100 or more; public sale begins on January 15. Learn more about making a gift here.
Mr. Batiste is a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree who balances a demanding performance and Late Show schedule with his role as Artistic Director At Large of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, public speaking engagements, master classes, and occasional acting roles. He played himself on the HBO series Treme and appeared in Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Batiste’s ever since I first saw him on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show with Stay Human,” said Gilmore Director Pierre van der Westhuizen. “His charisma, natural showmanship, and depth of artistry is simply magnetic. And the chemistry between Batiste and his band is almost electric.”
Mr. Batiste has released multiple recordings with Stay Human, as a solo artist, and in collaboration with others, such as the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis. On his latest release, Chronology of a Dream: Live at the Village Vanguard, the artist displays his prodigious talent at one of the world’s most iconic jazz clubs.
Mr. Batiste was born into a family of musicians in Kenner, Louisiana. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degree from The Juilliard School, and is strongly committed to the education and mentoring of young musicians. He has led his own Social Music Residency and Mentoring Program sponsored by Chase and given hundreds of master classes throughout the world. He has also led several cultural exchanges, beginning in 2006 when he performed with American and Dutch students at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Carnegie Hall through a program with the Netherlands Trust.
For all of his work, both as a pianist and as a humanitarian, Mr. Batiste has received numerous awards, including the inaugural Benny Golson Award from the city of Philadelphia and the American Jazz Museum Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also the recipient of the Gordon Parks Award and was presented with an honorary degree from Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.
Jon Batiste
Sunday, May 3 | 7 PM
Chenery Auditorium