Jon Batiste Is Leaving The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

When one door closes, another one opens.

Stephen Colbert announced Aug. 11 that Jon Batiste won’t be returning to the Late Show With Stephen Colbert after all. “Sharp-eyed viewers may have noticed that Jon hasn’t been here this summer,” the host shared. “Well, I have an update: Jon has decided to leave the show. But it’s for all the best reasons, including to continue to share his art with the world.”

Colbert continued, “We wanted to give him a big, in-person sendoff, but Jon’s not in town. I hope he’s cutting his new album, and I hope it’s called More Grammys Please.”

Stay Human member Louis Cato, who has been filling in for Batiste, has now been promoted to band leader and the group has been renamed The Late Show Band. Colbert praised Cato for his abilities, saying, “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.”