It’s the end of an era for The Late Show as Stephen Colbert announced on the Thursday, August 12 episode that long-time bandleader Jon Batiste is leaving the show after seven years.
“We’ve been so lucky to have a front-row seat to Jon’s incredible talent for the past seven years. And will we miss him here? ‘Yeaaah!’ But we’re happy for you, Jon, and I can’t wait to have you back on as a guest with your next hit record,” Colbert said on Thursday’s show.
Batiste, a five-time Grammy Award winner, has served as the late-night talk show’s bandleader since Colbert started as host in 2015. A singer, songwriter, and musician in his own right, Batiste has worked with artists across multiple genres and released his own recordings. In 2020, he co-composed the score for the Pixar animated film Soul, for which he received an Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy, and BAFTA award.
Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist Louis Cato will take over from Batiste when The Late Show returns for its eighth season on Tuesday, September 6. Cato has been serving as interim bandleader throughout the summer.
“Louis has done a great job this summer, and he is very humble, so he won’t say this,” Colbert stated. “But I will. He’s a musical genius. He can play basically every instrument over there. Give him an afternoon; he’ll learn how to play Mozart on a shoehorn.”
Cato will be joined by Joe Saylor; both men have been with the show since its inception. They will be accompanied by long-time house band members Louis Fouché, Jon Lampley, Endea Owens, and Nêgah Santos.
“It has been one of the great honors of my life to work on this show, alongside some of the most talented musicians and creatives I know,” Cato said (via Deadline). “Watching and learning from both Jon and Stephen for these past seven years, I’m genuinely excited to continue the tradition of excellence they’ve established.”
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS
