**Suleika Jaouad and Jon Batiste from his Instagram**

Grammy-winning musician and symbol of New York City — and Brooklyn spirit — Jon Batiste has left his role as bandleader for ‘Late Night with Stephen Colbert.’ Batiste’s Stay Human band will remain intact, with Batiste’s replacement Louis Cato entertaining the studio audience with the new Louis Cato and the Late Show Band. Cato has filled in for Batiste over the summer.

Vanity Fair writes that Colbert — who is very close to Batiste, saying he’s been “so lucky to have a front row seat to Jon’s incredible talent for seven years.” — was gentle in explaining that the beloved musician was leaving “for all the best reasons, including to continue sharing his art with the world.”

Batiste’s art is touching millions of people, often in a deeply personal way. His 2021 album ’We Are’ took home the Album of the Year at the 2022 64th GRAMMYs Awards in early April. The album earned 11 nominations and won five GRAMMYs. It was the first time a Black artist won Album of the Year since Herbie Hancock in 2008.

Suleika and Jon

Most of the images in AOC’s composite came from Jon Batiste’s [IG]. Speaking of the artist wanting to “continue sharing his art with the world”, on June 14 Batiste and his wife Suleika were honored by the Brooklyn Museum for their musical and literary contributions. Batiste wrote:

“Suleika and I are so grateful to be honored by the @bklynlibrary tonight for our musical and literary contributions! Though @suleikajaouad can’t attend tonight, I am very pleased to accept the award on our behalf and look forward addressing the community this evening. Libraries are an oasis in our culture and one such as the BK library is leading the way. What a beautiful honor.”

AOC read this spring that Jon Batiste and his partner of about eight years Suleika Jaouad, a journalist and motivational speaker, had married. Born in New York City to a Tunisian father and a Swiss mother, Suleika attended The Juilliard School's pre-college program for the double bass, and earned her BA with highest honors from Princeton University and an MFA in writing and literature from Bennington College.

Life Interrupted Again

Many know Suleika Jaouad as the writer behind the New York Times column ‘Life, Interrupted’. Launched in 2012, Jaouad wrote about living with cancer in her early 20s, after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. The artist narrated the column for more than two years, along with an Emmy-Award winning video series.

In March 2022, the Times again connected with Suleika Jaouad in Interrupted, Again: Suleika Jaouad on Cancer and Healing the Second Time Around.

We pause this post on Jaouad’s interview with the Times. Having read several posts about the artist’s cancer experiences and her own thoughts on spending eight years with her beloved Jon Batiste, AOC’s commentary must encompass her activist perspective.

The majority of stories have been about Batiste being such a great guy for staying with her, and Suleika Jaouad has strong thoughts about that editorial approach. Honoring her, we will not make the same mistake. ~ Anne

Related: Jon Batiste 'In Tune' By Christian Cody for InStyle US January 2021 AOC Fashion