Jonathan Batiste Wins at the Grammys and in Love
Jon Batiste, winner of five Grammy’s, including Album of the Year
At last night’s Grammy ceremony, Jon Batiste stole the show by winning Album of the Year for We Are, and a thrilling performance of “Freedom,” singing, playing piano, and grooving with a stage full of dancers, on a set evoking the imagery of the animated film Soul, for which he composed the music.
He also took home awards for his song “Cry,” the video for “Freedom,” and his work with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the soundtrack for Soul. The other awards were for best American roots performance and best American roots song. His song “Freedom” in the music video category beat out several other tough competitors, including Rodrigo, Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish.
I believe this to my core, there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor. The creative arts are subjective and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most. It’s like a song or an album is made and it’s almost like it has a radar to find the person when they need it the most.
—Jon Batiste
Batiste bolted onto the national scene as the musical director of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2015. I first met him when he was a student in the Juilliard Jazz program circa 2007. I interviewed him for a jazz television show I hosted at the time, Jazz it Up! By the time I interviewed him in 2012 for the New York Daily News, I could sense that his ebullient personality, talent as a musician, performer, and band leader of his Stay Human ensemble was a special combination. Colbert sensed and saw a special flava too, and now Jonathan Batiste is a star whose light shines across the globe.
Yesterday on CBS Sunday Morning, Batiste revealed that he and his lady of the last eight years, best-selling author Suleika Jaouad, were married. Jaouad’s Between Two Kingdoms, a meditation on her experience of having leukemia in her 20s, was a story of healing and survival. But at Batiste’s triumphant moment, learning of his 11 Grammy nominations, the love of his life was battling a recurrence of the illness, more virulent this time than before.
The darkness will try to overtake you, but just turn on the light. Focus on the light. Hold on to the light.
—Jon Batiste
What Jonathan Batiste did to show his devotion to his wife through music is a testament, beyond stardom and awards, to the healing power of love and intention.
I invite you to view the segment and discover the depths of a young man whose perspective on life is full of blues idiom wisdom.
