Jon Batiste has collaborated with the likes of Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, and many more. He performed the national anthem at Super Bowl LIX. He's headed up the musical efforts of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He's taken home more awards than we can realistically list in this article (including eight Grammys, as well as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe). But as I sit down with Batiste for a brief conversation about video game music, his energy transcends the Zoom call. 

Before I can even ask a question, Batiste begins singing to greet me, then nerds out about my NBA Jam and Street Fighter II cabinets. He begins humming the menu music from NBA Jam and reminiscing about all the quarters he pumped into his local Street Fighter cabinet. The Louisiana native and Juilliard School alum has been an ardent gaming enthusiast for nearly three decades, with compositions from games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Final Fantasy VII inspiring his earliest musical endeavors. Spend enough time watching video game music performances on social media, and you'll likely soon find videos of Batiste sitting with famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, or of Batiste performing gaming music. 

With The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time delivering some of the most iconic music of all time (and Batiste famously loving the music), it makes sense that Nintendo would bring him out to New York to serve as a special guest at the launch event for the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake on Switch 2.

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