Jon Batiste - FREEDOM. An exclusive live performance for Vevo. For more than half a decade, we’ve watched Jon Batiste light up 'The Late Show' with his high-wattage charisma as Stephen Colbert’s bandleader. Many of us were introduced to the charming multi-hyphenate via his distinguished TV gig, and asked: where’d this guy come from? Those who had a grip on the New Orleans’ music scene were already familiar — especially with the Batiste surname. Jon grew up playing in his family’s respected brass and funk bands. On 2005’s 'Times In New Orleans,' the 18-year-old deftly composed odes to his Crescent City home, at the same time displaying deep piano skills that made him a Julliard freshman at the time. 'WE ARE' is Batiste’s latest album. It’s jubilant and nostalgic. Talking with NPR, the pianist remarked that he wanted to show “people in the world that genres don’t exist. There’s no such thing. It’s only music.” This “FREEDOM” performance, complete with a six person choir, broke conventional walls for sure; you can be excused for taking your eyes off the screen only if it's to dance along. Jon Batiste www.instagram.com/jonbatiste twitter.com/JonBatiste www.facebook.com/JonBatisteMusic Vevo www.facebook.com/Vevo www.twitter.com/Vevo instagram.com/Vevo Executive Producer: Micah Bickham Director: Bram VanderMark Producer: Averi Smith Director of Photography: Skyler Brown Editor: Austin Prahl Music & Talent: Parul Chokshi + Shannon Pires #JonBatiste #FREEDOM #Vevo vevo.ly/l1vs97

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