Inside acclaimed artist Jon Batiste’s life as he joins The Piano season three
He is a decorated musician.
The Piano season three is well underway on Channel 4 with a glamorous replacement for beloved mentor Lang Lang.
Multi-award-winning artist Jon Batiste has joined pop star Mika in the hot seat for the reality series hosted by Claudia Winkelman, which gathers the the best amateur pianists to wow passers-by at the nation’s busiest train stations.
In seasons past, internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso Lang Lang, has helped mentor budding instrumentalists, where finalists get the chance to play in a packed-out concert hall.
Sadly, due to concert commitments clashing with filming for the third season, the musician had to step down.
But, flying in from the States, Jon has saved the day and is already making his mark on the show through his expansive musical knowledge and vibrant personality.
So who exactly is Jon Batiste and where do you know him from?
Who is The Piano’s new mentor Jon Batiste? Jon has had a wide-spanning career (Picture: Channel 4/Simon Webb)The 38-year-old acclaimed musician released his first album in 2005, Time in New Orleans, before going on to study at The Juilliard School, where he honed his skills as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer and songwriter.
From 2015 to 2022 he was widely known for his work as the bandleader and musical director for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Reflecting on Jon’s seven-year run on the show, the talk show host said: ‘He can play basically every instrument over there. Give him an afternoon, he’ll learn how to play Mozart on a shoehorn.’
In 2020, Jon was the composer behind Disney Pixar’s jazz-inpsired animation Soul as well as playing the piano in the movie. And it was an emotional experience for the musician.
‘I was almost in tears, because you see your essence and you think: Wow, this is the first Black Pixar lead and we’re putting jazz culture out there in this massive way,’ he told NPR.
His work landed him an Academy Award for best original score.
In 2023, he was the subject of the Netflix documentary, American Symphony, chronicling his journey creating his first-ever symphony which scored him the Grammy Award for best music film.
He has won several Grammys, a Golden Globe, an Oscar and more (Picture: David Becker/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)Overall, he has seven Grammys, including the prestigious album of the year for his record, We Are.
Speaking about the victory, he told Rolling Stone: ‘I thought the fact that my family was there with me to witness that is incredible. It’s incredible. Just so much went into that moment: piano lessons, some civil rights marches.
He added: “It was so loud that I almost didn’t know it was me because they didn’t say my name until after the title. I was like, “Maybe that’s somebody else’s album that sounds like We Are.”‘
Now, Jon has joined The Piano season three as a mentor alongside the Grace Kelly hitmaker Mika.
In an interview with Metro, Mika opened up about the different energy Jon brings to the table compared to Lang Lang.
‘When you end up between Lang Lang and then you’ve got Jon Batiste, they are both such excellent musicians with completely different genres. It was quite stimulating because he approaches repertoire in a different way to Lang Lang.
He brings a ‘different energy’ to Lang Lang, says new co-star Mika (Picture: Channel 4)He added: ‘Sometimes I had to explain to Lang Lang what ABBA was which in itself was so glorious because he was so pure. He knows all the classical music very well.
‘[With Jon Batsiste] it brought the level of conversation to a different kind of energy, it was stimulating and I think change is good.’
He has also served as the musical director at The Atlantic and patron of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
What songs is Jon Batiste known for?Jon has a venerated discography including his 2022 single Freedom which won a Grammy for best music video.
He also has some impressive collaborations including with Beyonce on her Cowboy Carter opening track Ameriican Requiem which he co-wrote and produced.
‘This is the moment yall, where we dismantle the genre machine. I was happy to produce and write for AMERIICAN REQUIEM, along with Beyoncé and Dion.
‘When I catch inspiration, the words and chords pour out of me. What an honour to then see how brilliantly Beyoncé made them her own and THEN further enhanced the lyrical statement, synthesising it into the larger body of work,’ he said in an Instagram post celebrating its release.
He has worked with multiple arists over the years (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation)Jon has also worked extensively with Lana Del Rey, where he featured on Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard with the Jon Batiste Interlude.
She also features in his latest album World Music Radio on the track Life Lesson.
On the experience working with the music artist, he told NME: ‘I had a lot of things that I was recording with Lana, and I recorded a lot of things with Lana that no one has even heard yet.
‘But two of those things ended up on her last album [2023’s ‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd’] and ‘Life Lesson’ on my album is like the palate cleanser after the credits roll in the movie. It’s a spiritual relative of the album sessions.’
He has also worked with Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, Ed Sheeran and Alicia Keys during his decorated career.
Who is Jon Batiste’s wife, Suleika Jaouad? He and his wife Suleika have known each other for years (Picture: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)Jon Batiste first met his Emmy-winning wife, Suleika Jaouad when they both attended band camp as teenagers which she described as the ‘most awkward place on earth’.
They later reconnected in the hospital when Suleika was getting treatment for leukaemia where he showed up with an entire band.
After attributing his wife as the inspiration for his track, Show Me The Way, he told the People Every Day podcast: ‘It speaks to a lot of me growing up and also our relationship. It’s a beautiful thing to have – that piece of our relationship sliced off into the album.’
And spoke about how the Covid-19 pandemic brought them closer together, with the couple ultimately tying the knot in February 2022.
Over the past few years, Jon has been supporting her wife after her leukaemia returned and she was required to have a bone marrow transplant.
It came back for a third time in December 2024 with Suleika revealing on Instagram: ‘Like life, my health was in flux. I felt healthier than ever only to learn my leukaemia was back.
‘I had to adjust to a gruelling monthly chemo regimen. My dad stepped in as my caregiver and I’ve cherished our one-on-one time.’
Suleika is a bestselling author behind her memoir and self-help book Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted, which traces her life from diagnosis to remission and beyond and has channelled her passion into cancer advocacy.
The pair offer a glimpse into their life together in Brooklyn in Jon’s Netflix documentary in a brownstone they settled on after viewing upward of 70 properties.
The Piano airs every Sunday on Channel 4 at 9pm.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
