Jon Batiste Reveals His Eclectic Musical Tastes Without Apology

Jon Batiste, the acclaimed musician and ex-bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, has never been one to apologise for his eclectic musical tastes. From punk rock to classical compositions, the Grammy-winning artist celebrates everything that moves him, refusing to engage in what he calls “song shaming”. In a candid interview, Batiste reveals the songs that have influenced his life and artistic journey – ranging from the funk grooves of Clarence Carter to the avant-garde soundscapes of Björk, and even the raw power of Australian punk group Amyl and the Sniffers. His playlist tells the story of a musician unafraid of celebrate the full spectrum of music, whether it’s a Bach masterpiece or a track he’d rather keep secret from his peers.

The Developmental Years: Family, Jazz and Early Exploration

Batiste’s musical grounding was formed not in concert halls or classrooms, but in his family home, where his father’s record collection offered the musical backdrop to his early years. Brought up in New Orleans, he was exposed to a diverse spectrum of genres – from the funk and soul records his dad would play to the thoughtfully selected jazz recordings his Uncle Thomas would provide him with. These weren’t arbitrary choices; they were intentional exposures to the masters of American musical tradition, artists who would become the pillars of his creative vision. Complementing the worldly music came spiritual education, with sermons and religious recordings embedded in his childhood listening, creating a distinctive fusion of secular and spiritual learning.

This formative introduction to different musical genres instilled in Batiste a belief that music surpasses genre boundaries and commercial categorisation. His uncle’s thoughtful selections – including Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, Louis Armstrong and Ray Charles – proved that musical quality could be located across diverse periods and styles. Rather than being taught to favour one genre over another, young Batiste came to appreciate the craft and emotion behind each performance. This fundamental understanding would shape his professional relationship with music, helping him move effortlessly from classical piano, jazz improvisation and contemporary sounds without ever feeling obliged to justify his choices to critics or peers.

• Father played funk and soul records at home on a regular basis
• Uncle Thomas would send religious and jazz sermons
• Early influences encompassed Armstrong, Peterson and Charles
• Secular and spiritual music informed his creative perspective

From Blockbuster Bins to Grammy Glory

Before Jon Batiste became an Grammy-award-winning acclaimed bandleader and musician for The Late Show, he was a teenager hunting through discount bins at Blockbuster Video, searching for used CDs that spoke to his diverse musical taste. These were not spontaneous buys influenced by radio play or chart positions; they were carefully chosen purchases of records embodying artistic excellence across wildly different musical landscapes. The records he chose during this crucial period – carefully selected from bargain bins – would prove to be remarkably prescient indicators of the varied musical taste he would champion throughout his career. What might have seemed like an unusual combination of purchases to other shoppers truly demonstrated a young musician already confident in his own taste and uninterested in conforming to restrictive genre conventions.

This period of musical exploration, undertaken in the unglamorous environment of a video rental store’s bargain bin, became essential to Batiste’s creative growth. Rather than passively consuming whatever proved popular or readily available, he deliberately pursued specific artists and albums, demonstrating an intellectual autonomy that would shape his musical philosophy across his lifetime. The Blockbuster bins served as his personal university, where he could try out various musical styles and construct a foundation of musical knowledge that covered soul, experimental pop, hip-hop and R&B. These initial acquisitions weren’t just entertainment; they represented investments in understanding the scope and range of current musical landscape, knowledge that would shape every artistic choice he would take in the future.

The Records That Began Everything

The four records Batiste acquired during this pivotal time demonstrate the sophisticated musical taste of a young listener already unafraid to blend different genres and styles. Michael Jackson’s Dangerous showcased pop music’s architectural brilliance, whilst Björk’s Vespertine presented experimental sound design and avant-garde sensibilities. Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun and Common’s Like Water for Chocolate represented the artistic heights of neo-soul and conscious hip-hop respectively. Together, these four albums created a personal canon that championed innovation, emotional depth and musical craftsmanship – values that remain central to Batiste’s artistic identity and his refusal to apologise for the breadth of his musical interests.

Dismissing Musical Snobbery: Why Punk Belongs Alongside Jazz Music

Batiste’s most striking musical confession comes in his unashamed celebration of punk music, specifically naming Amyl and the Sniffers as one of his preferred groups. Rather than consigning punk to a guilty pleasure or writing it off as creatively second-rate, he positions punk next to the experimental jazz that has defined much of his artistic trajectory. This refusal to engage what he calls musical gatekeeping represents a fundamental philosophical stance: that musical merit cannot be assessed through stylistic classifications or established rankings. For Batiste, the matter is not whether a track conforms to prescribed categories of sophistication, but whether it demonstrates true artistic authenticity and emotional resonance.

The relationship Batiste draws between punk and jazz proves particularly illuminating. Both genres, he proposes, share an essential kinetic energy and ethos of innovation that surpasses their apparent contrasts. Punk’s visceral drive and jazz’s adaptive sophistication both demand technical mastery, creative risk-taking and an rejection of conformism to commercial expectations. This observation undermines the false dichotomy that often positions “serious” classical or jazz musicians as inherently superior to those who engage with rock or punk traditions. Batiste’s body of work has consistently demonstrated that sonic achievement exists across genre lines, and that a genuinely informed audience member acknowledges quality wherever it manifests, irrespective of whether it appears on a concert hall stage or a crowded punk club.

• Punk music demonstrates kinetic energy similar to progressive jazz creativity
• Genre boundaries must not determine artistic credibility or audience appreciation
• Creative worth stems from genuine emotion and artistic honesty, not stylistic categorisation

The Songs That Defined a Journey

Batiste’s musical journey reveals how certain songs become woven into the fabric of our identities, serving as markers of significant turning points and emotional touchstones. His first musical recollections trace back to his father playing Clarence Carter’s Strokin’, a song whose explicit lyrics he absorbed at just eight years old—a crucial exposure to music’s ability to communicate adult experiences and desires. These foundational influences were complemented by his Uncle Thomas, who provided him with albums by jazz legends paired with spiritual sermons, creating a unique educational framework where worldly and spiritual compositions coexisted as equally valid manifestations of lived reality and understanding.

The records Batiste purchased as a developing enthusiast—Michael Jackson’s Dangerous, Björk’s Vespertine, Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun and Common’s Like Water for Chocolate—reflect deliberate choices that formed his artistic sensibility. These acquisitions demonstrate an instinctive gravitation towards boundary-pushing artists who resist easy categorisation. Each album represents a different musical universe, yet collectively they expose a listener indifferent to genre purity or mainstream accessibility. By purchasing these specific records rather than safer, more mainstream selections, Batiste was demonstrating his commitment to musical authenticity and artistic integrity.

Significant Instances and Psychological Anchors

Perhaps no other song carries greater significance for Batiste than When the Saints Go Marching In, a classic New Orleans standard that bookends his life philosophy. He played this song at his grandmother’s funeral, an experience he attributes to profoundly shifting his understanding of music’s spiritual power. The act of playing this particular song in that setting—in Louisiana, where his grandmother was laid to rest near Mahalia Jackson—changed it from a cultural landmark into a deeply personal spiritual anchor. He has chosen it as the song he wishes to be played at his own service, establishing a complete narrative arc of intergenerational connection and musical legacy.

Bach’s Air on the G String represents a different but equally profound emotional landscape for Batiste. He describes the piece as evoking the sensation of reflecting upon life as its ultimate observer—a meditation on mortality and solitude that he has felt deeply whilst performing in New York subway stations at three in the morning. The late-night urban setting—the city gradually quieting—provides the perfect context for grappling with the piece’s existential depth. These emotional anchors demonstrate how Batiste harnesses music not merely as entertainment but as a vehicle for processing life’s deepest experiences and deepest feelings.

The Collection of Songs That Characterises Jon Batiste

Batiste’s musical trajectory reveals a music enthusiast who refuses to be confined by stylistic limitations or industry standards. From the funky rhythms of Clarence Carter that accompanied his early years to the experimental intensity of punk rock, his musical preferences cover decades and styles with unashamed passion. What develops is not a random collection of varied sources but rather a coherent artistic philosophy that values genuine feeling and creative experimentation above commercial viability. Whether discovering records in discount music sections or choosing songs for his morning alarm, Batiste engages with music with the curiosity of someone who understands that meaningful creative work goes beyond genre boundaries and speaks directly to the human experience.