American musician Jon Batiste
Credit: © Ron Adar, Shutterstock

We don’t need an excuse to celebrate American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer Jon Batiste, but April is also jazz appreciation month! Batiste is known for his original compositions, combining New Orleans jazz with funk, pop, and R&B music. He has won a number of Grammy Awards for his music. This month, Batiste was recognized at the 64th Grammy Awards. Batiste’s album We Are was released in March 2021. In 2022, Batiste won five Grammy Awards including album of the year, best American roots performance, best American roots song, best score soundtrack for visual media, and best music video. He took home the most awards from the ceremony, hopefully making room on his shelves to display the trophies.

Jonathan Michael Batiste was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Nov. 11, 1986. He grew up in a musical family in suburban Kenner. Batiste began playing the conga drums as a child with his family band, the Batiste Brothers Band. Batiste began playing piano at the age of 11. He was accepted to the Juilliard School in New York City at the age of 17. Batiste formed multiple bands while in college, including the Jon Batiste Trio and Stay Human. While he was studying at Julliard, Batiste released two albums: Times in New Orleans (2005) and Live in New York (2006). Batiste earned a bachelor’s degree in classical piano in 2008 and a master’s degree in jazz studies in 2011. He recorded albums throughout his studies, including the EPs In the Night (2008) and The Amazing Jon Batiste! (2009), and the album My N.Y. (2011). EP stands for extended play and is a type of musical recording that includes several songs but is not considered a full-length album.

In 2011 and 2012, Batiste portrayed himself in Treme, a fictionalized television show based on his extended family’s experience in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Batiste also appeared in the American director Spike Lee’s movie Red Hook Summer (2012). In the movie, Batiste played a musician and cab driver named T. K. Hazelton.

Starting in 2008, Batiste worked as associate artistic director and music curator for the National Jazz Museum in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. Batiste released the album Social Music with Stay Human in 2013. In 2015, he joined “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as the bandleader and musical director with Stay Human. Batiste’s music is featured on the album The Process (2013) with various artists. He released Christmas with Jon Batiste in 2016. In 2017, Batiste began serving as the musical director for The Atlantic magazine. Batiste released his first solo album, Hollywood Africans, in 2018. In 2019, he released the live albums Anatomy of Angels: Live at the Village Vanguard (2019) and Chronology of a Dream: Live at the Village Vanguard (2019).

Batiste co-composed the soundtrack for the Disney and Pixar Studios animated motion picture Soul (2020). He won an Academy Award for best original score. He became the second Black composer to win an Academy Award for composing music, behind the American jazz musician Herbie Hancock.

American musician Jon Batiste
Credit: © Ron Adar, Shutterstock

For the 64th time, musicians gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, April 3rd to celebrate the past year‘s music. The Grammy Awards are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. South African comedian and television personality Trevor Noah hosted the awards show. American jazz pianist Jon Batiste won album of the year for “We Are,” in addition to 4 more of the 11 awards for which he was nominated. R&B duo Silk Sonic won record of the year for “Leave the Door Open.” American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo won three awards. She walked away from her first Grammy Awards after winning best new artist, best pop solo performance, and best pop vocal album. Doja Cat and SZA won best pop duo or group performance for “Kiss Me More.” Although Kanye West was not in attendance, he and Jay-Z won best rap song for “Jail.” In the rock genre, the Foo Fighters stole the show—winning best rock performance, best rock song, and best rock album only a week after the loss of their drummer Taylor Hawkins. Billie Eilish performed “Happier than Ever” wearing a T-shirt with the photograph of Hawkins. BTS performed their hit song “Butter” with a James Bond theme. Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, and Lil Nas X performed among other artists.

American entertainer Olivia Rodrigo
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The Grammy Awards are presented annually in the United States to honor excellence in the recording arts and sciences. Grammys currently are awarded in more than 80 categories in pop, rock, country, jazz, blues, gospel, folk, rap, Latin, and classical music, as well as engineering, producing, and music videos. Lifetime achievement awards are also presented by the Academy to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. Winners receive awards modeled after an old-fashioned record player called a gramophone. The term Grammy comes from the word gramophone.

American musician Billie Eilish in concert
Credit: © Ben Houdijk, Shutterstock

To be eligible for a Grammy, recordings must have been released during a one-year eligibility period defined by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Members of the Academy and record companies submit entries, which are screened for eligibility and category placement. The Academy’s voting members nominate five finalists in each category. Members then vote for the winners. The Academy consists of musicians, producers, and other recording professionals.

Members of the South Korean pop group BTS are, left to right, front row: Suga and V. Back row: J-Hope, RM, Jin, Jimin, and Jungkook.
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The first Grammys were awarded in 1958. Since 1971, the Grammy Awards have been presented on a live television special. Today, the special is watched by many millions of viewers throughout the world. In 1997, the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences was established as a separate organization with its own awards ceremony. The first Latin Grammys were awarded in 2000. Latin Grammys recognize excellence in international Latin music in more than 45 categories. Latin Grammys are selected by voting members of the Latin Recording Academy and follow many of the same rules as the other Grammys.

American rap artist Lil Nas X
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