Jon Batiste is a Kenner native who went to St. Augustine High School and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He was a member of the Purple Knights’ Marching 100 and became a young professional New Orleans entertainer and musician before rising to international fame. He has had 22 Grammy nominations, winning seven Grammys. He’s won an Oscar and a Golden Globe award. Columnist Will Sutton interviewed Batiste about his Hurricane Katrina experience and how the storm has shaped New Orleans and music. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
SUTTON: Let’s go back to summer 2005. Where were you? What were you doing that summer?
BATISTE: I had returned home for summer break from my first year at Juilliard. I had finished at St. Aug and NOCCA, and went to Juilliard for a year and returned. This was for the summer break, and I was home through the day that Hurricane Katrina hit landfall…