For Prince, the sole bon mot he offered up to Batiste: privacy. “That was his musical advice and life advice. I was a kid. I was about 19 or 20, so I wasn’t having a dialogue with Prince.

His energy and presence in a room just filled everybody’s hearts,” recalled Batiste, who joined Prince on a 2010 American tour. “He had a certain way of being aware of what was going on.

Maybe not with Prince, but still. Colbert then passed it over to his band leader Jon Batiste, saying that he wasn’t just a fan of Prince; Batiste and his crew had actually worked with Prince.

Everyone is about to learn how talented Jon Batiste is. The 38-year-old multi-hyphenate performer will sing the national anthem at the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans this Sunday.

World-renowned musician and Late Show musical director Jon Batiste treats our audience to a performance of 'PRINCE' from his recently released live album 'Chronology of a Dream: Live at the ...

Then, Batiste unleashed his hit “Freedom,” shaking with soul power and dancing like James Brown with Gumby’s limbs. Batiste, 37, is a New Orleans-reared musical polymath with a deep background.

The backstory: The year 2022 for celebrated musician and composer Jon Batiste was a remarkable one. The band leader of seven years for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert received a historic 11 ...