Jon Batiste Sets Return to Stephen Colbert’s Late Show

Jon Batiste is coming home for the holidays. The Oscar and Grammy-winning musician is set to reunite with Stephen Colbert this Wednesday night as a guest on The Late Show.

Batiste served as the original band leader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, with his band Stay Human serving as the show’s house band after they’d performed on the host’s precursor Comedy Central show The Colbert Report in 2014. Batiste served as the show’s musical director for seven years, from its 2015 launch through August 2022.

When he left both the show and the band to pursue solo ventures, he was replaced by the group’s Louis Cato as the outfit remained and changed its name to The Late Show Band.

This won’t be Batiste’s first time back at The Late Show since his departure. He previously guested on the show back in December 2023.

Batiste’s latest appearance comes on the heels of a new album. The musician released Beethoven Blues: Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1 on Nov. 15. The solo piano record features new renditions of Ludwig van Beethoven songs, in addition to original compositions by Batiste.

Batiste has kept busy since leaving The Late Show. In addition to Beethoven Blues, he released the 2023 album World Music Radio, featured on Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, and starred in the Barack Obama-produced Netflix documentary American Symphony.

His work once again intersected with the world of late-night television when he served two roles on Jason Reitman’s SNL biopic Saturday Night. In addition to composing the score for the film (and recording it live), Batiste also appeared in the movie as SNL‘s inaugural musical guest Billy Preston.

Colbert’s guest lineup for this Wednesday will also feature musician Dua Lipa, with whom Batiste formed a house band for The Late Show’s elevator in a 2018 bit. She stars in a concert special set to air on CBS and Paramount+ this week, An Evening With Dua Lipa, featuring Elton John.