Jon Batiste Departs 'Late Show with Stephen Colbert' After 7 Seasons

Kathryn Milewski -

Grammy Award-winning musician Jon Batiste is off to bigger and better things. Batiste has departed The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS after seven seasons as the show’s bandleader.

The news broke during the August 11 show, as Colbert announced Batiste's departure on-air and the show Twitter account stated Louis Cato had been promoted. He was formerly interim bandleader and will take over Batiste's role permanently when the show returns for its eighth season on Tuesday, September 6.

“We've been so lucky to have a front row seat to Jon's incredible talent for the past seven years,” Colbert said on the show. “And will we miss him here? ‘Yeaaa!’ But we're happy for you, Jon, and I can't wait to have you back on as guest with your next hit record.”

Batiste is exiting to “pursue personal and professional interests.” At this year's Grammys, he won Album of the Year for We Are and was the most-nominated artist of the night.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

Watch Stephen Colbert announce the band change below.


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Article Image: Jon Batiste sings to a crowd while performing on NBC Today's Citi Summer Concert Series at Rockefeller Center Plaza in 2022. (thenews2.com via DepositPhotos.)