NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— There’s always so much ground to cover when talking to Grammy winner Jon Batiste. He’s involved in so many projects and he’s a real inspiration to fans around the globe.
To top it all off, Batiste remains a champion of his hometown and our music.
According to Batiste, “We (New Orleans) represent true freedom, our culture represents true freedom and expression. It’s not just a party, and Bourbon St. and throwing beads at Mardi Gras. It’s some of the most intellectually deep and some of the most beautiful rich cultural expression in the history of the world
Batiste won 5 Grammy awards for bringing our music to the world and with that, he also brought the dreams and wishes of his parents to life.
Jon’s mother Katherine stated, “What I’m most proud of Jon is that he uses his blessings to help others. He radiates so much love for humanity.”
Along that theme Batiste listed a host of local talent like Trombone Shorty, PJ Morton, and the St. Aug Marching 100 as contributors to his album, thus insuring they won Grammy as well on an album of the year.
“I always believed that you should open the door for everybody. You should just move in and take it for yourself, said Batiste.”
See the full Zoom Interview here:
The extended Batiste family is a musical one. Jon’s father Michael also played bass on the album and he says because of the music scene here, education was important at home, “New Orleans produces a lot of good talent, so we didn’t want it to be run of the mill, that’s why we made sure that he stayed in school.”
The honors continued this week with a special proclamation from Governor John Bel Edwards with the family at the capitol and Jon on zoom, and he’s resumed his duties heading the Late Show band but he wanted to impart a bit of advice to young music creators.
“With all these different things happening in the world remind me that any second that I have inspiration I should just run after it I should pursue it I should jump right on it. I don’t sleep but about 4-5 hours a night but in spurts I let it all come out. But this is a tip for young creators, you don’t have to know where something is going to land when you’re creating it,” said Batiste.
In additon to Jon’s duties on the Late Show, he begins a Carnegie Hall residency on April 24th.