The bandleader of The Late Show, Jon Batiste, will retire after seven years in that position, it has been announced.
Since the Stephen Colbert Show’s relaunch in 2015, the multi-Grammy Award-winning Album of the Year performer has been hosting the group Stay Human. On Thursday, Colbert made the announcement live on air.
He announced, “Jon has made the decision to depart the show. The continuation of sharing his art with the world is just one of the best reasons, though.
The Late Show‘s orchestra conductor will now be Louis Cato. While Batiste’s Stay Human band included members Nêgah Santos, Endea Owens, Louis Fouché, Jon Lampley, and Joe Saylor, the Grammy-nominated musician served as the band’s interim leader for the summer.
Louis has worked extremely hard this summer, but he is also quite modest, so Colbert said he won’t tell this. “But I’ll. A genius in music, he is. Almost every instrument there can be played by him. He can learn to play Mozart on a shoehorn in an afternoon, given enough time.
Joe Saylor, who has performed with Louis on The Late Show since its debut, along with Louis Fouché, Jon Lampley, Endea Owens, and Nêgah Santos, who have all been a part of the house band for many years, will join Cato, who has been a part of the show since its beginning.
Working on this concert with some of the most talented musicians and artists I know has been one of my greatest privileges in life, Cato remarked. I’m truly delighted to carry on the history of excellence Jon and Stephen have built after seeing and learning from both of them for the past seven years.
Tuesday, September 6, will mark the start of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert‘s eighth season.
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Multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, and Grammy-nominated Cato. Along with Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Talib Kweli, Snarky Puppy, David Sanborn, George Duke, Bobby McFerrin, Marcus Miller, John Scofield, and A Tribe Called Quest, he has collaborated with many other musicians. Cato released Starting Now (2016), his debut solo album, which he also mixed and produced entirely by himself, after 20 years of contributing his skills to other endeavors. Later this year, he plans to release Reflections, his most recent album, which is currently in post-production. Manager and producer Sam Goldberg at Levy Law PLLC and Jake Levy are his legal counsel.
Here’s a dated statement from 2015:
Batiste couldn’t be present on Thursday, according to Colbert, who stated that he was out of town at the time of the announcement. “Since Jon has been performing for the past seven years, we’ve been incredibly fortunate to watch him in action. Will he be missed here, too? ‘Yeaaah!’ However, we’re delighted for you, Jon, and I can’t wait to welcome you back as a guest with your next number-one single. Yours truly, “claimed Colbert.
We’ll update this article if and when Batiste makes a public statement regarding his leaving.
